Mayhem
by Sabrinahttps
Summary: Maka has defeated Asura but his madness still resides in her... what kind of mayhem lies ahead?
1. Chapter 1

Soul found it hard to look away from Maka as she laid in the small hospital bed, let alone leave. It had been nearly a week after their fight with Asura and things were gradually coming back together, the city was under a huge repair and even Lord Death had to attend to his injuries. At least Soul was told. Soul had not left the dispensary since he had rushed Maka there after the world warring battle took place. He could remember the moment after the barrier had disappeared and Maka standing above him, face lit up with the cheesiest smile. He also recalled her flinging herself at him only to be unconscious by the time she was in his arms. Stein had promptly worked on her, checking vitals and blood work just to confirm she had pushed her body too far during the fight and it was impressive she didn't parish with Asura. Stein and Lord Death had agreed it would be best to induce her into a light coma while her body caught up on much needed rest and healing. Not that it made Soul feel any better, he just wanted to talk to her.

In the past week, he had done a lot of thinking but his thoughts continued to refer back to the moment whenever Maka transformed herself into a weapon.

"Most meisters do have the potential to be a death weapon and vice versa," Lord Death explained. "It is not shocking that she awakened this considering the desperation of the situation. I am sure her own scythe had awakened whenever losing her partner." Those words hit hard and resonated with Soul as he sat beside Maka day in and night out. If he had just been able to do his job, she wouldn't have had to do that to herself and she would not be in a fucking coma. He sighed deeply, reaching forward and holding Maka's cold hand. Her hands were so small and fragile it was a compelling thought to know what these hands were capable of.

Time continued to pass slowly but the world seemed a little lighter when Stein and Marie came in one afternoon, Lord Death shortly behind them. Soul jumped up, anticipation bubbling in his chest.

"What's going on?"

Marie smiled softly, easing some of his thoughts. "Nothing bad, Stein thinks the time is right to let Maka wake up." His heart nearly exploded, he could not wait to see her awake and talking.

"After thinking about it, we believe it would be a good idea using Marie's healing wavelength on Maka especially considering all the madness she was bound to have taken in," Stein continued. Soul nodded in agreement, he could sense all that darkness in Maka even without soul perception. He thoughts floated to Maka in his mind space moments before she had saved him from his own caused by the black blood. Marie's wavelength could only help at this point. They began to unwire her, more nurses pouring into the small room. Kid tapped on Soul's back, reluctantly prying his attention from his meister.

"It's going to be awhile and they need space, let's go grab something to eat."

His growling stomach made it hard to argue but he wanted to be there whenever she woke up.

"I can't, I need to be here whenever she wakes up."

"The medicine will keep her knocked out for at least another day or so," Stein chimed in before Kidd could. Soul's excitement diminished a little, he had been over the moon at the good news thrown at him, it makes sense for some sort of catch. Soul sighed sadly, shoulders falling a little as he followed Kidd out from the room.

They chose the closest cafe, Soul hadn't realized just how hungry he had been until he ordered a second bowl of curry. Kidd made small talk over his salad and soup, catching Soul up on the condition of Death City, it was still rough but steadily moving forward to normalcy. Classes began again in two weeks, allowing students a proper rest after having to fight in a world war against Kishin madness. After lunch/dinner with Kidd, Soul decided he should probably go home and shower, change and clean up the apartment before Maka was released home.

He was surprised to see it was still very clean aside from the picture frames and loose items that had fallen during the fight whenever Death City became mobile. He quickly cleaned up broken glass before running the hottest shower of his life. He hadn't even bothered to shower since being in the infirmary himself, he went straight to Maka's room and did not leave. The hot water eased some of the soreness in his muscles. He was excited to be home and sleeping in his bed, dispensary recliners just weren't the same. It was even more exciting because he knew the next time he would be back here, Maka would be with him.

It was dark out by the time he was back to sitting next to Maka, only this time he brought himself books to keep him busy. The idea of sleep was foreign and with the idea Maka could flutter those eyes open at any point left him on edge. He was reading one of Maka's books considering he didn't have many himself, it was a book he vividly remembers her staying up very late to read and falling asleep on the couch multiple times with different volumes of this book either in hand or on the ground next to her. By the time he was four chapters in, Soul understood her obsession, it was a really damn good book and before he knew it he was halfway down with it and the clock read 3:23am. He wanted to read more but his eyes did not allow him to focus, the words become fuzzy and started running together much to his dismay. Just as he was setting the book down and reaching for the blanket, he heard a sigh came from Maka. The first sound she's made since she was yelling his name and free falling toward him. Sleep left his body as he pulled the chair forward quickly, intertwining his fingers with hers.

"Soul?" she whispered, sleep heavy in her voice still. A huge smile painted his lips, he was so happy to hear her.

"I'm right here," he whispered back, squeezing her fingers with his. She sighed again and her breathing evened without another word. With the sound of her voice in mind, he fell asleep shortly after her, keeping her hand in his.

"Soul? Soul, wake up," a soft voice whispered, then a hand ran through his hair pulling him the sweet blackness. Sleep vanished from him as her voice kept calling him, Maka was awake at last. Soul nearly jumped from his skin, their hands were still linked until he pulled them away to wrap her in a tight hug.

"Hey," he breathed, letting his head rest on top of hers. Maka snaked her arms around his waist, her face in his neck. Before he knew what was happening, he felt her hot breath and wet tears on him. Instead of pulling away, he got comfortable on her little bed while clinging to her petite frame. Sobs wracked her body, shaking not just the bed but his heart too. He could only imagine what she went through with Asura after he fell, she had done it not just to keep the world safe but him too. The image of her openly taking the full force of Asura's attack to ensure his safety was branded into his brain, branded into his soul. Guilt was also there, guilt for not being good enough to protect her in the way she had needed.

"I am so sorry Maka," Soul whispered, voice wavering and cracking with his own emotions. Her cries slowed and she nuzzled her face into him, breathing deeply enough for the both of us. He kept repeating his apologizes.

"I promise I will never stand by like that again," he assured her. For the first time, she pulled back and shook her head.

"That's not why I am crying Soul, I am just so relieved," she whispered, small hands wrapping tightly in his shirt. "I am just so relieved that you're okay. I had these horrible dreams and I couldn't tell if they were dreams or not."

Without a knock, the door flung open and BlackStar, Kidd, Tsubaki, Crona, Liz, and Patty all filled the room.

"Maka!" BlackStar yelled before rushing to her, poking and proding before being smacked away by Soul with an ugly look. Maka's relaxed frame sat up straight and pulled away from the intimate embrace much to Soul's dismay, irritation rose in him. They had just barely had a free, quiet moment together.

"Hey," Kidd said, "how are you feeling?"

"Like I had to defeat a Kishin," she chuckled. Soul refused to move from the bed with her, adamant on keep touching and prying hands off her. She had barely just woke up, couldn't they let her be? Soul's irritation grew as more people poured into the small room all focused on engaging with Maka, she answered the same set of questions for the next three hours or so as people came in and out to pay their respects. Soul allowed them, she had after all saved the world he supposed they must pay their dues to the new world's savior. After all even Lord Death couldn't do it so it makes sense considering she was basically a goddess among humans now. Not soon enough, Stein came in with Marie in tow.

"Welcome back, Maka," Stein smiled, checking vitals.

"Thank you, for all you have done for me, Doctor," Maka said humbly. _Leave it to Maka to play the good girl to the end. _

"We should be the ones thanking you, if it weren't for all of you…" Marie trailed off. "Who knows what would have happened. This is the least we could do. Stein and I agree that it would be best to take things slow for a while and do weekly healing sessions to help with the reminisce of madness… I am sure you feel it. We also suggest you coming in with her Soul and doing healing wavelength therapy too. It should help you both be able to match wavelength faster and with more ease," Marie stated, looking between the meister and death weapon. They both nodded.

"But other than that, I don't see why you need to stay here for the rest of your recovery. I am putting Soul in charge of taking care of you from here on out aside from our weekly sessions," Stein said promptly, scribbling a couple of notes on his clipboard. He finished removing the IVs and vital monitors. Shortly, they left hand in hand, something of a somewhat new development for Maka.

"When did that happen?" Maka asked Soul in reference to Stein and Marie. Soul shrugged, unsure himself but he could take a guess.

"Probably right after you defeated the Kishin, at least officially. It's not like their feelings were much of a secret, even when Stein was fighting all that madness." Maka hummed in agreement, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She still wore the hospital gown, with her back to Soul he could see the bareness and the angry red marks and cuts that adorned her porcelain flesh. He pushed away the frustration he felt with himself, knowing it wasn't going to help her to hate himself. He would just have to get stronger.

"Do you have clothes for me?" She asked, standing slowly. Soul could sense the shakiness in her body from across the room. Grabbing the plastic sack from home, he steadied her with an arm around her waist.

"Let me help you," Soul said. Maka gave him a weird look.

"I prefer to pee alone but thank you," she laughed, grabbing the bag from his hand. He didn't argue because he too found that awkward, instead he opened the door for her and closed it allowing her the privacy she asked for. Minutes passed and Soul heard a frustrated sigh from the other side of the door before it cracked open and Maka stuck just her head out.

"Next time, I would much rather prefer my own clothes," she sighed before letting the door swing open. He couldn't help but laugh. Soul, tired and not paying attention, did not pack her a pair of shorts of her own but rather a pair of his black boxer briefs. It kept getting funnier as he glanced at the chunky combat boots she had to wear. Her face went red, feeling rather exposed and awkward in his boxers, a white spaghetti tank top with no bra and her fighting boots she had worn when battling Asura. Not to mention the lack of socks and underwear although she was glad he didn't go into her room and through her panty drawer, just the thought made her blush deeper. Soul's laughing did not make her feel any less weird but it did make her smile. She smacked him as she approached causing her own hands to sting.

"I look ridiculous Soul! Stop laughing" Which in return made him laugh harder, she could not fight the smile playing on her lips. Small tears leaked from his eyes from laughing. She signed, defeated and began grabbing all the things she could. Warmth spread through her chest at the amount of flowers, cards, balloons and general items laying about. Her eyes fell on one of her books on the floor next to the recliner, a bookmark peeked out showing the reader was nearly finished with the book. Picking it up, she was surprised at which book it was, a drama romance situation with fire breathing dragons to make it not so boring.

"Were you reading _Game of Thrones_?" Now it was Maka's turn to laugh. Never in a million years could she see him A) picking up a book and B) reading this book in particular. Soul scratched the back of his head, a nervous tick for him.

"Yeah… what about it?" It made her laugh harder how defensive he sounded.

"Wow Soul reading a book outside of class? The world really must have ended and I am in a lucid dream on my way to hell," Maka laughed at him, throwing it in the plastic bag. Even wearing that goofy outfit, Soul liked the way his boxers fell on her creamy thighs. Her hair was so messy from being bedridden but he noticed how much longer it has gotten, it was rare for her hair to be down so he savored the moment. Quickly he finished gathering what he could carry in the back pack he brought, slinging it over his shoulder and grabbing the bags out of Maka's hands. Now with empty hands she went to grab some of the flowers and balloons given to her but Soul interjected.

"You don't need to be carrying anything, I'll see if one of the nurses will send the rest to the apartment."

"I'm not helpless you know, I was the one to finish off Asura I think I can manage carrying some flowers back to the house," Maka rolled her eyes but Soul was not having it.

"No one said that but they did say to take it easy, just focus on walking steadily and then we'll talk," Soul narrowed his eyes at her as she promptly ignored him and continued to go grab things. Snatching it out of her hands, he pointed out just how bruised and burned her hands still were.

"Don't make me throw you over my shoulder Maka, you aren't even supposed to be walking like this yet, your muscles need time to recover." Maka knew he was right so she didn't argue any further, instead she just deeply smelled a set of yellow and red flowers before stepping away, trailing behind Soul.

The walk wasn't too bad and she hated to admit it but Soul was right, especially whenever she came to realize she still had three flights of stairs to go up before she could lay down. The walk from the dispensary was maybe three blocks but she was tired, at least physically. Breathless by the time she got up the first flight, she took a minute to just breathe.

"Wait here, I'll be back," Soul said, running up the stairs hands full with ease. By the time she was halfway up the second flight, Soul was already back and before she could protest he had scooped her up bridal style and effortlessly going up the stairs. She curled her lip at him, frustrated.

"I could have done it Soul!"

"I know," he said simply, not trying to argue. He pushed the door open with his foot, Maka was happy to be back, just the smell of home and Soul was enough to make her eyes feel heavy. In seconds, Maka was lying in her bed, Soul peeling the covers back under her and then tucking her back in.

"Here, just sleep. I'll be here if you need me." Maka didn't need anymore words, she fell asleep almost instantly.

Soul just stood there for a second, looking at her amused at how quickly she fell asleep after talking all that smack. She was so pretty, he almost couldn't look away from those pretty lips or the soft curve of her slender neck. He shook his head as if it might clear the thoughts before forcing himself out of the room. It was midmorning so he quietly put on jazz, mind flicking back and forth between Maka and dinner plans.

* * *

**I am so excited to being writing again! It's been a really long time since I've been creatively writing so let me know how y'all feel!**


	2. Chapter 2

Weeks have passed since Maka and Soul came home, they have quietly fell back into their routine. Today they were due for their third therapy session and unsurprisingly, Maka was already up and kick starting her day hours before Soul. Soul was, however, blessed with a sight. Maka out on the porch clad in a t shirt a little too small for her, allowing her midriff visible, those black boxers Maka had now claimed as her own, which was fine she looked far better in them than he did, and bright yellow leg warmers. She was doing yoga, he could sense her in that moment, she was actively trying to meditate but Soul's presence broke her concentration. Soul didn't avert his gaze whenever she glanced over her shoulder. He wanted her to know he was watching. In the recent weeks, hell, recent months, his feelings for Maka were just going haywire. He was noticing things he couldn't believe he never noticed before, like the curves of her hips and thighs in those jeans she wore last night or the sweetness of her morning voice the days after being home and he had served her breakfast in bed. His longing to touch her became so strong whenever they cooked dinner last night it was almost unbearable.

"Morning," Maka smiled, sliding open the glass door with an empty mug. "What some coffee? I'm going to make a fresh pot."

How could he say no? Soul nodded grabbing his favorite mug from cupboard, watching his meister collect the ingredients. His eyes ran along the healing marks and mares, most hadn't left scars. He didn't have to see the nasty one of her back to know it was going scar, anytime he thought about how she got it his stomach dropped and chest became heavy. _She's alive, Soul, focus on that and focus on never putting her in a situation like that again._

Maka could feel his eyes on her, in fact it's all she could sense these recent days. She wondered if it was her imagination or if was actually Soul. He always had to ultra cool, calm, laid back attitude and seeing him stare so much had her worrying. They hardly left the house these days and if Maka left, Soul was right behind her. She could only imagine how bored he's been recently waiting on her to heal so that he could go back to doing what he wanted to do in his free time.

"Would you want to go swimming after therapy? Doc said the pool would help us both with our muscle recovery."

Soul's brain immediately zoomed in on the fact he would see Maka in a swimsuit, debatably better than what his eyes were graced with right now. Pushing those thoughts to the side, he knew she held a valid point plus it would be nice to get out.

The appointment with Marie and Stein went slowly but he always did appreciate how much lighter he felt, those healing wavelengths were no joke. Maka was light on her toes too, eager to jump in the water. Summer was here but the heat came long before summer arrived so that water should be more than warm enough. Upon arrival, only a couple of people occupied the pool area, most of them girls just tanning on the sidelines, only one person actually floated in the pool on a blowup floatie. They both already on their swimsuits so they picked a shady spot in the corner of the pool area, secluded from the others. Soul and Maka went to work laying down their blankets and cooler filled with snacks and water… unknown to Maka, Soul had snuck in a little bit of alcohol too since they had walked here anyways, where's the harm? Soul grabbed the spiked lemonade, trying to casual knowing Maka's response.

"Did you really put vodka in that lemonade?" She sighed. Damn her and her damn nose.

"I mean why not? It's not like we doing anything today… plus we basically saved the world like a month ago, I doubt anyone would judge me for having a drink over," Soul shrugged, throwing back a good couple of drinks. His lips curled in disgust, booze always tasted so gross so matter how you played it. He looked over at Maka, expecting her to continue to bitch at him but shocked him whenever she snatched the bottle from his hands and drank even more than he did.

"Oh god why does it taste like rubbing alcohol," she coughed, fighting the urge to gag but gulping half her water bottle. Soul was shocked but laughing at her. He had never seen her drink anymore than half a beer in a whole night, he was curious who this Maka was exactly.

"Who are you and what have you done with my Maka?" Soul questioned playfully, not missing the blush that rose to her cheeks. She liked that who _my_ Maka part even though she wouldn't dare admit outloud. The heat from the booze heated her tummy, almost matching the heat of the sun outside. Reminding her, she dug through her bag until she found the sunscreen, handing it to Soul.

Soul watched closely as she turned her back to him and stripped her clothes, leaving her clad in her pink and black two piece. He couldn't remember the last time they went swimming so naturally he'd never seen this on her but felt like the luckiest person in Death City witnessing it. His eyes, involuntarily, trailed from her shoulders, down her back, appreciating her clenched waist and the way her hips and thighs shaped and those long legs of hers. For someone short, she had so much leg. He never got a chance to enjoy her perky behind either, she never wore clothing that really highlighted that aspect but he wished she would. Trailing back up, his eyes focused on the scar on her back, most of the flesh wounds have healed rapidly thanks to their therapy sessions but the scar remained a painful reminder to him of his lack of competence.

"Are you going to put sunscreen on my back or?" Maka's voice pulled him back to reality. He would be a liar if he said he was quick about rubbing in the lotion, in fact, he put too much on purpose.

"Oops I put way too much," he said innocently, rubbing the lotion over her shoulders and to her chest trying not to make his enjoyment too obvious. Maka secretly relished the way his hands felt on her, her breath quickened a little whenever his hands went low on her back and then whenever he spread the extra lotion on to her chest. With his hands over her pounding heart, she wondered if he could feel her heartbeat. Heat kept spreading through her even after his hands were no longer touching her. She realized that the heat wasn't just from Soul but from the vodka too. She felt kind of… woozy but in a fun way.

"Okay, your turn," Soul said from behind her, catching her attention. She turned around to see him standing in just his swim trunks, sunscreen bottle in hand. Maka always noticed the scar across his chest and it always made her chest tighten. She took it and he turned his back so she could return the favor. She could feel him tense under touch, she loved the curve and muscles of his back… she could've done just that all day. _He deserves a massage, all that sleeping next to me at the dispensary probably has muscles tense and knotted especially considering the events leading up to my hospital stay. _Finishing, she dropped the bottle of sunscreen back in her bag and she felt the full effects of what she had drank hit her.

"Wow there, you good?" Soul asked laughing lightly. "You're such a lightweight."

With that, they walked to the pool, feet crunching through the grass. Maka went to the stairs and before she could even get to them, Soul had already made a loud entrance. The water felt amazing, cool but perfect for the hot weather. Soul swam to her from the deep end as she sank into the water, wetting her hair and face. The alcohol made her warm and fuzzy and the water made her feel weightless, what a beautiful combination. Sighed happily, she floated on her back meeting Soul halfway.

"This was such a good idea," she sighed happily to Soul. Soul devoured the sight in front of him, arms stretch out and perfect skin glistening in the sun, the way the sun made her hair golden and pale, her lips and cheeks flushed from the vodka. _What a sight, _he thought. He swam around her, watching her slowly swim on her back with her pretty green eyes closed.

Hours passed and Soul and Maka got out to dry themselves. Soul noticed Maka's sly glances at the lemonade bottle before picking it up and drinking the rest of it. _Maka really has a wild hair up her ass today._ Soul could see the effects of the booze on her already, the way she leaned into him in the pool and laughed fool heartedly for no real reason.

"Are you good?" Soul asked, watching Maka stumble to grab her things, nearly falling over to pull her shoes. She laughed loudly at herself, the sound melting Soul yet putting him on guard… all of this is very unusual Maka behavior.

They walked close to the apartment, Maka bringing up old memories.

"Do you remember that time I tried to drive your motorcycle?" She laughed, covering her face with her hands. Soul wasn't sure what exactly what was making her cheeks red but he knew what was making him blush. She was only wearing the jean shorts and let her top half clad in just her pink and black bikini top, he also was flustered whenever he heard a loud whistle by a guy on a bicycle. Maka narrowed her eyes and immediately launched the water bottle she held directly at his head but sorely missed. The whole thing had Soul fuming too, he wanted to clothesline that motherfucker who just whistled at Maka like a damn dog.

"I would call him a pig but pigs are too smart and cute to compared to that garbage," she ranted, words slightly slurring. Even with his own irritation, he chuckled at her response.

"Maybe if you put on a shirt…" Soul pointed it, promptly receiving daggers from Maka herself. He said it loosely because he was also enjoying the view. Looking at her, he pondered on how he could call her all those names growing up. Sure, she wasn't the most endowed but to call her flat chested would be a lie, it also occured to Soul that her curves were something new as well or maybe just being brought to his attention. Either way, he knew it was making him feel some sort of way, in fact he found himself daydreaming about her making breakfast in that one pajama set with the purple stars on it…

"Are you going to ignore me?" Maka's irritated voice shook him from daydreaming. Having no clue what she said, he laughed nervously.

"Uh, what did you say?"

Rolling her eyes, she answered. "I was asking if you wanted to grab take out? I'm craving Italian."

"Oh, yeah that sounds good," Soul answered and noted the way her face lit up. Maka knew it was a skeptical request considering he wasn't much of Italian food fan unless it was pizza they were talking about. They made it to the apartment, Soul made a beeline to the shower, intending to take a cold one. Meanwhile, Maka placed their order and then waited patiently in the living room for the bathroom, playing some of Soul's records while she waited. She used to hate jazz music, all music in general. It had always brought unwanted memories of her fake happy family.

Growing up, she and her mother were almost completely oblivious to Spirit's infidelity. Happy memories our their little family dancing to old jazzy music, or old rock and roll whenever Maka's mom wasn't around, it stung to know it was a facade. In fact she was quite the artist growing up, dancing had been her strong suit but Spirit has also taught her to play guitar. It was a bittersweet feeling looking back but as she got older, it became less sweet and only bitter. In fact, Maka can't remember listening to music after her mother left until Soul came around. Hearing his fingers so effortlessly grace the piano and being able to feel his emotions through the notes made the pain more bearable. That's what it always boiled down to with Soul, he made Maka's pain more bearable.

Listening to his records, she stood in the middle of the living room deep in thought, drink in hand. She was not sure what was getting into her or why she suddenly felt the need to be drunk but she decided she liked the feeling for the time being. It slowed her thoughts, making it hard to overthink and for the time being, kept her in the present for the most part, at least away from the madness. Even with the sessions, the madness still tinged her mind in more than one way, it seeped into her dreams taking away even the most innocent of pleasures. She relived those moments inside the barrier where she was convinced Soul was dead and she submitted her consciousness in hopes of merely surviving. She hated the fear she felt whenever she laid down at night knowing it probably would not be peaceful.

The vinyl record came to an end, only then did she realize how long she had been there and how long Soul was taking and the fact she had an empty drink. It was some gross brown liquor that made her feel so warm and fuzzy she felt like a wooden stove radiating heat from the inside out. The brandy flavored ice sloshed as she spun around feeling like she was floating through time and space. Maka nearly jumped out of her skin to see Soul standing there just watching her, food already on the counter.

"Sweet Death how long have you been there?"

Soul shrugged. "Long enough, so Maka are you going to tell me what's going on? You're not acting like yourself lately."

Maka froze, he was right but she did not have the words to explain it because truthfully she didn't want to talk about it. It was overwhelming for her to think about let alone vocalize.

"I just not ready. I am still dealing with a lot of thoughts… madness," Maka said, defeatedly. Soul's face twisted in deep concern and he stepped close to her, enough to feel his body heat. She was actively aware she was still wearing her swimsuit with just jean shorts. One of his hands tightly grabbed her shoulder while the other forced her to look at him directly, the overwhelming scent of booze came off her but her eyes held steady to his.

"Maka. Please, please do not do this alone. Don't make me watch you burden this alone. That's what I am here for… please," there was desperation in his voice Maka had never heard before that made her soul spike out of control. This is what she meant, Soul always made it easier. Tears started to prickle in her eyes and her throat became thick with emotions and she leaned into her chest. She engraved the smell of him in her brain, the softness of his shirt and the hardness of his chest and his spiked heart rate. Maka hadn't felt so safe since the Kishin had been revived, even before that.

"Okay I promise whenever I can… I will," Maka sniffled pulling back from the embrace. He nodded, content with the answer.

"Hurry and go shower, I'll be waiting."


	3. Chapter 3

Soul's heart ached watching Maka stumble down the hall, slamming the bathroom door behind her. He cautiously wondered if it was a good idea to let her shower in her condition. Knowing Maka, she would not be stopped despite her level of sobriety so he just made a point to listen for her. His mind flickered to the fact she never even sensed him leave the house or come back or watch her… the thoughts she must have been sifting through are beyond him but Soul reminded himself she doesn't drink so it would make sense for her to be so severely disoriented. The shower didn't turn on for at least ten minutes after she had closed and locked that door, he could not help the worry that flickered through his mind. Considering how confused he had felt about Maka recently, tonight was the most clear minded night for him. He knew her past, he understood her distrust toward intimacy, somewhat, and as of now somewhat understood why she had been so distant, he was beginning to realize it… he had romantic feelings for her. Very strong ones at that. Just admitting it to himself helped lift this fog of confusion around his brain.

The water was hot and it helped sober Maka up, for a long while she just sat on the toilet thinking about everything, Mom, Spirit, Asura, but mostly Soul before stepping under the hot water. Maka's feelings for Soul had already been there but as the days went by it became harder to ignore them. She found her body physically responding to him, a nice distraction from the gruesome thoughts plaguing her. She wondered if it was distraction she sought or if Soul really was making her feel this way.

Maka took her time showering, doing her whole routine from washing her hair to shaving and doing her face wash and peel, life was hard as a woman who cared about her appearance. The effects of the booze wearing off rapidly as she became more aware of Soul's presence, Maka could feel his anxiety and uneasiness. Guilt felt heavy in her chest knowing she was the reason for these feelings, still she couldn't bring herself to cut the water. Her thoughts roamed all over the place, lingering on the near future. To say she was nervous about the future was an understatement, she was terrified. Terrified what it might hold for her, what exactly do you do after the world nearly ended? The whole war with Arachnophobia had put a lot of things in perspective, it was a reminder of how easily things could come to an end. The images of bloody battlefields still reeked in her brain, she wondered how the hell Soul or anyone really is so okay… was everyone feeling this way or was it the madness still contaminating Maka's thoughts.

Maka's thoughts flickered to Crona and how he was holding up, needing an urgent answer Maka breathed in deeply and expanded her soul perception, seeking his familiar wavelengths. Easily enough, she found him and was happy to know he was sleeping peacefully. Things must have been so hard for him lately, he did kill his own mother despite how wretched she might have been. A knock on the door pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Hey are you okay?' Soul asked, ear pressed against the door. On cue, the water shut off.

"Kind of… I don't have a towel in here, would bring me one?"

Soul grabbed two towels from her bedroom, knowing she would need one for her hair too. Knocking softly, the door cracked open, hitting him with heat and steam from her shower. It amazing she didn't melt in there. A muffled thank you as she reached her arm out of the door and then promptly slammed it shut, despite being excited at the idea of interacting with a naked Maka, he knew any funny busy would result in a Maka chop. The smells of her shower routine always seemed to make his brain foggy. The lavender lotion she had an obsession with, her eucalyptus face creams and sprays, her sweet cherry blossom body wash always mixed up to make this unique and enticing smell that always left him a little fuzzy, he would never admit to basically huffing her body wash whenever he showered.

Soul was glad he waited to heat up the food until Maka was out or else the food would've been cold again, not that he minded cold pizza but who liked cold baked ziti or whatever the hell she gets.

"Sorry I took so long," Maka says, sheepishly. Soul wanted to stare, of course she was wearing those purple starred pajamas. He could smell her across the room, happy to see the booze had worn off during her hour long shower. Soul shrugged, pretending to be immersed in his manga.

"Did you eat yet?" She asked, opening the fridge and pulling out the small side salad that came with her meal first. Soul shook his head before catching the door of the fridge, snatching a piece of cold pizza from the box. The air was thick and heavy as they ate, Maka tried to ignore it but failed. Soul was back to being regular Soul but she could not keep her eyes off him. Her salad held little interest.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Soul asked, closing his book and throwing away the crust of his pizza. What a waste. But the thought of sharing the couch with him right now seemed like the best thing the world had to offer.

After bickering, they finally settled on some Sci-Fi movie. Soul loved these moments, he always had. He looked forward to watching TV while she read on the couch, it was something so normal he had been craving. He watched as Maka made popcorn and made a note of the slight tan she picked up today while at the pool, she usually just burned. She had always complained to him how lucky he was that he tanned instead of burned not that he really ever cared or understood the obsession with being tan, he liked the way Maka's skin looked without all that extra work. But tonight he couldn't help but see the light glowy effect the sun had on her, especially in contrast to all the white and bright purple in her pajamas. Those pajamas….

"Why are you staring at me? Do I have weird tan lines?" Soul damn near jumped out of skin as he broke his gaze away from her legs and up to her face just as she turned away to pour popcorn into a bowl. He fumbled for an answer, no excuse in hand for staring.

"Yeah," he lied. She rolled her eyes before plopping down beside him, the movie starting up. Within the first half, Maka had began to lean on Soul's shoulder and she could not ignore the feelings she got whenever he leaned back draping his arm on the back of the couch, allowing her head to rest directly on his chest. In fact, she loved it. Maka wondered if he knew how much she liked that because he did it almost every time they watched TV together. They were basically cuddling and Soul was eating every second of it. He wanted to wrap both arms around her and pull his into his lap to be exact. Feeling ballsy this evening, he let his arm fall off the back of the couch and wrap around her waist, pulling her closer. Nervousness shot through him until he felt her settle closer and sighed softly into his chest. She was so small yet sturdy, he was constantly reminded of that whenever she was slinging him around in scythe form but easily forgot it in human.

Too soon the movie was over and Maka was asleep on him and he didn't have it in him to move, instead he picked up that book he had started whenever she was still coma induced. He knew they both needed sleep, tomorrow they began their regular duties as meister and weapon. Part of him was excited but another part very nervous. They were start on light work, just practicing at first but soon they would be thrown back out to collect Kishin eggs. Lord Death had made a rather unsettling announcement a couple days ago, informing those who have been on rest since the war that it would be rather hectic with Asura's madness still affecting the globe despite the fact Maka killed him. Even with the shaky alliance with the witches, many witches have now considered themselves rogue rather than to work with the DWMA.

"You must keep in mind," Spirit announced, adding seriousness to Lord Death's hunches.

"Witches are not going to roll over so easily, many even in the alliance refuse to chase down former members which do not help us and only paints a target on your back as members of DWMA. Expect interference on missions, with that in mind it is of utmost importance to be on top of your game."

Soul replayed the announcement in his head over and over, looking down at Maka. He knew, theoretically, she had defeated Asura so some witches should be a piece of cake but he knew what madness could do to your thoughts and abilities firsthand, after all it was Maka herself that saved him from it. Seeing her in his soul space, glowing bright golden light was something he could never forget or how she enveloped him. In that moment, even with all the rage, chaos and madness happening in the background, he was at peace in Maka's arms. Looking down at her now, he hoped he offered some of the same comfort she gave him.

Soul realized he had just been staring at Maka, flipped open on the same page for however long. As much as he didn't want to move, Maka would be far more comfortable in bed and his back and legs had grown stiff. Move as gently as possible, he slid off the couch and slowly lifted her off the couch. She struggled for a moment before her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," she slurred sleepily. Soul gave her a soft smile, setting her on her bed lightly.

"Yes?"

"Sleep with me?" she asked, even sleepy he could see the earnest in her question. His stomach flipped at the idea of being curled up with her on her full size bed.

"Are you sure?" Soul asked. Maka scooted over into the wall giving him room to lay down, silently inviting him.

"I wanna sleep good tonight," she sighed as he settled in next to her, stiff at first. It felt weird sleeping with a shirt and hot but a sacrifice he was happy to make especially whenever she nuzzled her way into his side, long leg stretching over him. He damn near melted. Not holding back, he wrapped his arm around her tightly. Using his other hand, he brushed her wild hair from her face and his neck. Without realizing he planted a fat kiss on her forehead, how was he expected to sleep whenever she laid beside him like this? Maka stirred at this action, tightening her leg around his thighs, sighing happily. He wondered if she was asleep or still half awake.

Morning came too soon for both of them, Maka woke up first of course but promptly decided to go back to sleep whenever she felt the throbbing in her brain. _Fuck alcohol_ she thought before laying her head back on Soul's chest and drifting off to the sounds of his breathing and steady heartbeat.

Soul woke up, engulfed in Maka's heat. She was like radiator on steroids, how could someone produce this much heat? Without thinking, he flung the covers off them causing Maka to snuggle closer to him. He glanced at the clock, it was barely seven. Maka is usually is already up, that booze really got the best of her. He can't believe she drank, let alone that old cherry flavored brandy that his brother, Wes, gave him years ago on his fifteenth birthday. She certainly was something else. He rolled over on his side, her back to him now. He took the opportunity to wrap an arm around her and drew her close to him, her back flush against his chest. He breathed in the smell of her, the mixed smells of her shampoo and body lotion still clinging to her. He thought about that forehead kiss he gave her last night wanting to repeat it but on the base of her neck. Even though she was asleep and had asked him to sleep with her she never asked him to kiss her so he resisted the urge.

He knew logically, that she felt some sort of way too but the idea of rejection and the idea of tainting their partnership with a failed romantic approach was a terrifying prospect to him. He also understood she would be skeptical of it all considering how her parents turned out. Silently, he weighed the choices and whether it would even be a good idea to approach her like that. His mind trailed to other girls he had been with, they had been exciting and fun, sure, but that was it. Love was never on the table but with Maka he already knew he loved her, it was just a matter of what kind of love and if these feelings he was feelings now were for real and not a passing fad because of all the trauma they endured together. He came to the conclusion that there wasn't a conclusion but he knew he valued their partnership above all and would do anything to ensure it stayed intact.

Although comfortable, Soul had over thought himself awake. He didn't want to move but his bladder wasn't going to allow him to lay next to this pretty girl much longer. Thankfully she wasn't on top of him anymore so slipping out of bed unnoticed was easy. Sleeping with Maka has made him sweaty so jumping into the shower his mind wandered to thoughts of slender blonde meister.

The weeks came and went, Maka and Soul restarted their training with ease and taking small nearby missions. Maka rather enjoyed jumping back into the fray especially considering their new found strength. Lord Death and the other DWMA teachers were not surprised considering their defeat of Asura. Only one thing had Soul concerned was the darkness he sensed whenever they soul resonated, it wasn't overwhelming but it still bothered him. Regardless, it was a good distraction. Also their graduation was coming up very quickly adding more excitement into the atmosphere.

Breathing hard, Maka called practice for the day. Shifting back to human form, Soul fell next to her in the grass.

"Did we really have to practice outside? It really hot in weapon form, yaknow the sun and metal don't mix well," he complained, flinging his shirt off and threw it with their backpacks.

"What? Wanna practice inside and risk having the Genie hunter take out the whole wall? I doubt Sid would let us get away with ruining his favorite place in Death City."

Soul grumbled, complaining further about the heat and Maka agreed it was hot but it would cool her down if he could put fucking shirt back on. In these past months she had become more and more aware of his physical changes. Soul was certainly filling out, shoulder stronger and boarder, he seemed to be constantly getting taller which was especially weird considering that they had been nearly the same height her whole life and his growth spurt was a little eye opening. His chest though is what got her, she had seen him shirtless on countless occasions but in the recent days the build of his chest and the defined muscles on his stomach caught her attention, she could feel her gaze following the defined V shape that disappeared under his basketball shorts. The scar added this grufness that was beyond words. Physically shaking her head, she looked away before he opened his eyes and caught her staring at him that was only bound to get into a sticky situation. She hated all these emotions; she loved Soul he was her best friend but these sickly sweet sensations whenever he touched her were driving her mad and it put her on edge. To say she feared romantic intimacy is an understatement, in fact she dreaded it. She hated the idea of becoming a parent and raising a family because she knew what it would eventually lead to. In fact, she had every intention of spending the rest of her life as a meister and eventually an educator at DWMA. That had always been her dream and she recognized just how close she was to it. Another thing about love was she saw what it did to people, for Death's sake, Eibon betrayed everything he spent his life building in hopes of giving his dying lover immortality which never even worked out. Instead it caused a huge mess for hundreds of years and should any of the devices he made fall into the wrong hands then more devastating problems will surely erupt. Maka refused to allow that to happen.

Not to say she didn't believe in it but it just wasn't for her, at least not romantic love. She was satisfied with the types of love in her life now, the love her and Soul shared was enough to save the world and romance didn't have anything to do with it.

Right?


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you think?" Tsbuaki asked stepping out from the dressing room. If BlackStar was here, Maka was certain he would have his jaw on the floor.

"I think I am bitter I couldn't fill that dress out if even if I had plastic surgery," Maka said, looking at the tight fitting red fabric, two small triangles cut out at the waist giving her the appearance of an even smaller waist and curvier hips. Otherwise it very plain, high collared with long sleeves and knee length. It was honestly the perfect amount of sexy/playful for graduation without going too far. Maka couldn't help but notice how the dark red dress looked a lot like the color of blood.

"I think it covers too much," Blair purred, everyone including Liz and Patty rolled their eyes. Everyone brushed her comment off, complimenting Tsbuaki's choice. Now it was Maka's turn, she had two dresses she was considering. One was a black dress that reminded her of the dress she wore whenever she fought in Soul's headspace during the war against the black blood madness. It went to ankles in a frilly fashion and had clenched fabric on her hips hopefully giving her the allusion of a curvier frame and a sheer long sleeved top. The other dress was a bit out of her comfort zone, it was dark rich purple color that Maka loved with spaghetti strapped with a cowl neckline but her favorite part was the deep dip in the back, leaving most of her back open aside from the criss-cross of the straps. The dress was a satin material and glittered in the sunlight so beautifully she had to at least try it on. It made her feel better knowing it floor length taking away from the sexiness in her mind. Maka tried on the black one, pleased with the fit and that it indeed helped her seem curvier.

Maka stepped out, a little proud. "What do we think?"

After a moment of silence, Patty finally said it. "You look like you're going to your grandmother's birthday party." Everyone chuckled, even Tsbuaki. That how one knew, even Tsbuaki laughed.

Maka sighed. "Okay you could've just said no."

Everyone laughed again as she went back into the changing room. The purple dress required her to take off her bra, making her feel more naked than being in the shower. It was a little long and she hadn't even noticed the thigh high slit until it was on her. Maka loved the color though, it brought out the golden tones in her usually flat, pale blonde hair. Maka stepped out silently but evey one jumped like she had Maka chopped someone.

"Uh wow!"

"Holy smokes!"

"Yes! That one!"

"You look so pretty!"

They all answered at once, giving her more confidence as she stepped in front of the circle of mirrors. They were right, it did look good but Maka hadn't ever worn something like this. Before she knew it, Blair was beside her with hair of strappy black heels.

"With these," she purred, helping Maka put them on. The heels were tall for Maka but perfect for the dress so they were a winner. The girls gathered their things, paid and agreed to grab dinner together since the boys were all playing basketball together it's not like they had any plans either.

Gossiping over dinner was nice but Maka craved home, she wanted to read in her pajamas and take a hot bath. Her and Soul had been training left and right lately, working on better and faster combinations. She also still had issues releasing her anti-magic wavelength on command, something Spirit and Stein stressed to both of them needs to be able to control with ease, especially with the politics of everything now. It was part of the reason they hadn't been sent on long term mission or far away, DWMA and they knew that word had gotten out in the witch world who had defeated the Kishin. With that, everyone seemed to have a bone to pick with Maka and Soul. Witch sightings and interactions had skyrocketed since doomsday and they couldn't afford to fuck up. It didn't help that Maka was sure the madness still tinging her brain had something to do with her problems summoning the anti-magic wavelength making it even more dangerous.

Whenever she concentrated, she could feel a dark barrier in her brain, somedays it was like something was wildly thrashing behind it and other days it slept peacefully, undisturbed. The whole situation made Maka uncomfortable, she did not like unpredictable and certainly not in her own mind. It frustrated her beyond words, Soul more than anyone understood with his personal experiences with madness, she had felt it too. She hasn't spoken to him about explicitly because the madness she felt now was beyond comparison to even the black blood inside him. Her frustrations reflected in their training session last week whenever Maka threw her demon weapon across the forest… still in Witch Hunter form at that. Her temper tantrum has butchered the whole east side of the hiking trails, cutting effortlessly through full grown trees, splintering the earth and nearly causing the riverbank to be blown to pieces. It didn't help that Maka took off running to avoid being seen crying nor did she want to take her anger out on her death weapon when none of it was Soul's fault to begin with, instead, sprinting aimlessly into the forest until she was puking deemed to be the better option.

All day had been hard, her thoughts deviating from the present to madness driven thoughts of war, blood and torn apart people, so much so that her food became unappetizing and now sat almost whole in her fridge.

"I'm home!" Soul yelled, entering the apartment. Maka didn't bother to respond from her room. She was concentrated on the book she was reading, it was written by her mom and explained the anti-magic wavelength. She had read this book front to back countless times but she still referred to it, especially now with all her problems revolving around her being able to master the damn thing. It frustrated her beyond words that she could only sometimes do it. She had only successfully done it during practice twice and even then she was still unsuccessful at maintaining it. She had more luck summoning it during actual battle. Which made sense, adrenaline and desperation were powerful feelings to mix. She needed to be able to summon it without question however, that will be the only way she'll be truly successful as a meister. Her thoughts were interrupted by Soul knocking and sticking his head in.

"Hungry? I picked up pizza."

"I'm okay, I ate after dress shopping."

"Cool," Soul said stepping fully into the room, still damp from his gym shower. Maka always loved the way he looked fresh out of the shower. However now was not the time to ogling. In fact it kind of pissed Maka off that he was talking to her, she just wanted to be left alone with her frustrations.

"Gonna show me the dress?" God he was annoying her today, ugly words welled up in her throat, she fought the worst of it back.

"Didn't plan on it," Maka snapped harshly, not looking up from her mother's book. Soul felt the words like a physical hit. He put his hands up in surrender, left the room wordlessly but slamming the door behind him. _God don't be such a bitch. _He thought to himself, hopefully loud enough for her to hear him through soul wavelength.

"Call me a bitch again and I'll give you reason!" She screamed before he got down the hall. He couldn't help but laugh a little, she _hated_ being called a bitch. He knew he shouldn't press her but she's been so ugly to just about everyone lately. He understands she's frustrated with not being able to master the Genie Hunter but he desperately wished she wouldn't project it. He wondered if it was really Maka talking or if was the leftover madness making her so on edge. For Death's sake, the way she flung him the other day in practice in Witch Hunter was scary. She could have seriously injured someone… or him if he had by chance been knocked unconscious or a tree fell on him. Soul remembers trying to calm her down but she was already gone by the time he unburied himself in a pile of debris that was on him. He still had no idea where she went. To say he was worried was an understatement and in his opinion he doesn't believe we should be out on missions with her state of mind being so uneasy. It made him uneasy whenever she handled him and her wavelength were at times almost impossible to match. With all this in mind, he slipped on shoes and headed out to see Marie and Stein, maybe they would help shed some light.

"I see…" Stein said, thoughtful. Marie had the same pondering look on her face as she spoke. Soul just explained his situation with Maka, even telling them about the training incident.

"Sid was wondering what had happened over there," Marie said, leaning back with a cup of tea in hand. Soul hadn't even touched his, too focused on communicating his concerns.

"My best advice is that she restarts her sessions with Marie, it sounds like all the madness she swallowed inside that barrier is still affecting her. I have a question did Maka ever take a direct hit from Asura… with his weapon?" Soul knew the answer immediately, she had whenever protecting him.

"Yes, Asura tried to kill me whenever I knocked out of my weapon form."

Stein nodded, looking at Marie with an unreadable look.

"That was likely a wave of madness directly from him. In all honesty, I am not sure how she survived. Can you tell me what happened afterwards?"

"It was really fuzzy, I was trying not to black out but I think that's whenever she lost consciousness and awakened her weapon form."

"Her consciousness was likely fighting the madness she had absorbed leaving her instincts to fight," Marie chimed in. "Whenever I was doing her healing sessions I did encounter a very thick, dark barrier. However, everyone possesses their own madness and well mastered meisters and weapons have their own block on it. It takes a different shape for everyone, I believe that the Kishin madness is still lingering and possibly causing her barrier to be weaker therefore allowing more madness tinge her thoughts. It is likely she's aware of it."

Soul refers to the night she was drunk and he had asked her to allow him to help. She claimed she hadn't been ready, Soul came to the conclusion that she probably would never be ready to confide in him. It stung to think she didn't trust him, so much so he could feel the hurt in his chest. Soul trusted that woman with everything, quite frankly she had saved him from the black blood madness… more than once.

He was quiet for a long while. "So you're telling me she just needs more healing sessions with you?" He asked Marie.

"It will help but unlikely to stop it completely. A lot of me believes that she will forever be affected by Asura's madness, it is likely it has become apart of her."

"Like my own madness, which is more intense than most people's, it never goes away. I have learned to control it and recognize it. Keep in mind Soul, it took me years to conquer it. You must be patient with her, work with her and considering her lack of trust with intimacy it will likely be a difficult journey for the both of you. You must decide if you are equipped to handle all these things, no one would judge you for stepping down as her weapon."

His heart dropped into his stomach at even the thought, quickly anger replaced the shock of what Stein had said.

"You must be mad to think I would ever _step down_ from Maka. _Maka_? You really are crazy old man, don't ever say anything like again," Soul spat, jaw locked with anger. Stein shrugged and leaned back to light his stupid cigarette.

"I am only speaking the truth but I am glad to see how dedicated you are to her. Now make she knows that herself."

Soul went straight to the library and got every book on madness and therapy he could get his hands on, irritated that he could only check out books up to second level he texted Kidd to come.

"Hey, what's up?" Death the Kid said, very confused at seeing Soul in a library and actually reading. It had to be Maka related. Soul explained his situation as quickly as possibly, wanting to get back to reading. Kid could sense the urgency in his voice and quickly got all the books on madness up to level four.

"I'm free right now, I can help," Kid offered. Soul looked, relieved for the help especially from Kid. He was a smart guy.

They spent the last of the daylight hours pouring over books, Kid showed Soul some good exercises to help contain and filter out madness, mostly meditation type practices. As far as trouble soul synching, many of the books suggested participating in activities that forced physical synchronization like dancing or team based sports, any type of activity reliant on communication. He hated the idea of dancing but he knew Maka was a dancer growing up, ballet and ballroom. He always thought how well it suited her, stiff and uptight at times. He wondered why she didn't continue dancing after her mom and Spirit divorced, he had seen home videos that Spirit overshared. She was quite good but then again, she was good at everything she did. Including driving him absolute crazy with her badass attitude lately.

"I guess we are going dancing," Kidd laughed. Soul looked at him confused.

"Who invited you to this?" Secretly relishing the thought of dancing with Maka. Maybe not the dancing part, not that he couldn't dance he just didn't particularly enjoy it but the idea of being able to hold her close to him while she was actually awake was riveting.

"How do you expect to get Maka to do something like that out of the blue? We'll make it seem like a friend group thing and with graduation and wedding season coming up, the studios will be buzzing. I think we'll be able to drag her out." Kidd was right and it was a pretty good plan. However another plan shot through his brain.

"It said team based sports too…. What about paintball or laser tag?"

Kid seemed way more interested now. Leaning forward on his elbows with a huge grin on his face he said.

"Oh yes, that would work too but you guys better be prepared to be demolished. No one's better with a gun than I am."

Soul had been gone all evening and guilt burned in her gut. She had ran him off with her ugliness earlier. It had been hours, the sun had set and he had yet to be home. Maka sat on the couch, TV playing but her eyes staring elsewhere, mostly recounting her day. Why was she in such a bad mood? She had a great day and she was genuinely excited about the dress… why didn't she just show him?

"What the fuck is my problem?" Maka whispered, knowing the answer in her gut. Today had been rough… mentally. She found it hard to keep violent images out of her thoughts today. The more that came to her, the less she seemed to recognize it. Sure she saw lots of stuff that she hadn't wanted to see gore wise but the horrendous pictures that flashed through her brain, continuously at times, did not seem to her own at times. As if on cue, dead classmates on the battlefield ransacked her brain. What made everything worse is that in those moments, she was stepping over dead comrades to run _away_. She felt disgusted with her actions yet unremorseful knowing she was leaving to save Crona and Stein. The conflict tugged her brain like a civil war but guilt still held heavy on her shoulders.

_Why do you care?_

_No one ever came to your rescue? _

The thought wasn't her voice, unrest made her stomach flip. She wanted to leave her brain and never come back. Suddenly the door swung open, she didn't need to look to know who it was.

Soul didn't say a word, instead he kicked off his shoes and went straight to his bedroom. Hurt settled deep, knowing it was entirely her fault. She had to at least let him know how sorry she was. Rising from the couch, her feet padded lightly to his door which was open.

"Hey…"

Soul looked up from his phone, legs dangling off the side of his bed. She wonder absentmindedly if he ever got tired of his twin size bed, he wasn't the fifteen anymore.

"What's up?"

"I'm sorry," Maka sighed, leaned against the door frame defeatedly. "I _was_ being a bitch."

She had Soul's full attention, shocked to hear her even saying the word bitch let alone calling herself one. Maka, in particular, hated that word therefore rarely saying it. He stared at her for a moment, expecting a further explanation. Maka looked up, throat thick with emotion and tears brimming in her water line. _Please, please not right now_, she begged with herself. She did not _want_ to cry but Soul was on his feet now, closing the distance between them.

"Hey, don't worry about it. I know it just because you've had it rough, just know I am here for you… it's what partners are for right?"

Maka loved how easy Soul made it, just like that their energy wasn't stale or weird anymore. She gave him the biggest smile she could muster, sniffling back tears. He never touched her, instead he put his hands in his pockets and Maka was grateful. If he would've hugged her she wouldn't have been able to keep it together.

"Right… now let me show you the dress. You're going to be shocked."

Shocked was an understatement, frankly he was blown away, she didn't just show him the dress, she put the damn thing on _and _the heels to go with it. He'd known Maka for the better part of their lives now so he could say he knows her style pretty well but this was a contradiction to her usual practical, safe and fairly conserative style. Soul drank in the sight, even more excited knowing he would see her all dolled up in this in a couple weeks.

The dress was satin, mystical dark purple color, standing out on her creamy skin. Her hair blonder than ever, green eyes bouncing off the shimmer-like fabric. It was form fitting, open backed save for thin crossed straps holding the garment to her. The neck was a sort of scoop that emphasized her bust, also he knew she had to be braless which brought a whole different set of thoughts. The flare of her hips looked amazing as the dress floated around her legs, thigh high slit just adding the cherry on top. He had never once seen a sexier woman in his life, he decided. Not even Blair could match this regal, elegant air she had. She looked like something carved in a fountain. She shook her pigtails down to showcase the dress for him and he just wanted to touch it.

"I…" Soul started unsure what to say. _What the fuck do I say to this?_ Maka giggled, finding joy in making him speechless. His face made her want to do all sorts of things, her own thoughts seemed to be surprising her a lot these days but for a change she was okay with this one.

"Well, what do you think?" Maka asked, stepping toward him and giving him a little spin making his head spin with her. He couldn't help but notice it did every single part of her body justice. How was he expected to form _words_?

"It's… uh, it's different," he sputtered okay, immediately realizing those were the wrong ones.

"I like it, I like it a lot," was all he could manage. Thankfully, that's what Maka seemed to want.

"You're right it is different, I let the girls pick. I'm kind of surprised I got it too but different is good yaknow?" Soul agreed, different was good whenever talking about clothing but he wasn't inclined to agree totally with the statement. He wished Maka would come forward and tell her what the hell was going on in her brain whenever he walked in. Soul, now especially after talking with Stein and Marie, just wanted to discuss it all with her in the open. However, he knew that was dangerous call and did not want to push it tonight. He was relishing their moment.

"Yeah, it's good for you to step outside your comfort zone," he said, alluding to another conversation. He hoped she picked up on it. Her smile faltered at his double edged words, she knew his words weren't talking about her dress choice necessarily. She knew that even though she apologized, she did not explain and she also knew that one explanation would by nature led to an explanation of the whole situation. She wished she had the guts to just come out with it but her confusion made her words hard to speak even as she stood there trying her best to summon up the courage. Instead, she turned around and went into her room more frustrated than ever.

The week crawled by, Maka hardly slept and the sleep she did get was terrible. Maka wasn't the only one who had noticed it.

"Hey… how are you Maka?" A soft voice approached her in the bathroom as she washed her hands. Marie came close, resting a hand on Maka's shoulder after drying her own.

"I am okay, just stressed out."

"I figured, Stein could sense it and so could I."

Maka found it hard to deny, she was exhausted and her frustrations only weighed heavier on her mind.

"I want you to start coming back over once a week for healing, it'll help. Have you been meditating?"

Maka nodded in response.

"Okay, I'm glad to hear that. What day works best for you?"

They made out a schedule, trying to not be embarrassed of the situation and how out of hand it had gotten for Maka.

"You should put more trust in Soul, he's very dedicated to his meister," Marie said so casually, not giving her a chance to respond before walking out the door. Maka knew it had been set up, as irritated as she was at Soul she understood in retrospect. She remembers feeling the same way whenever his black blood had been causing madness in him. Anger made her bones shake, she reminded herself it was residing madness and she was only allowing it fester but that did not change the fact she was livid with white hot anger.

Classes had been let out for the day, Soul stood at the end of the hallway with his hands inside his pockets waiting for Maka. They had a dance lesson with the group in a couple hours, Soul almost blew his cover convincing her to come. He hated to see her so isolated, constantly holed up in her room or practicing had been the way she spent her week. Maka wouldn't even make dinner, claiming she had already eaten whenever Soul knew better. He could see the exhaustion weighing down on her from a mile away, he could even hear her at night sometimes.

A couple nights ago, he heard her stirring and decided to get up this time too. Soul found her leaning against the railing of their balcony, head tilted back toward the stars.

"Can't sleep either?" Maka asked as Soul stepped outside.

"No, actually I just heard you. You've been talking a lot in your sleep," Soul had said plainly, not willing to beat around the bush.

"Yeah, I know…" Maka sighed frustratedly. Frustration seemed to be the only thing Maka had been feeling.

"I just can't sleep with all those dreams, the dreams are exhausting all by themselves," Maka continued, Soul completely focused on her words. He had felt this distinct barrier with her lately, he was tired of standing by and watching her try to burden this alone.

"What are the dreams about?"

Soul could see Maka's physical response to the question, goosebumps raised on her arms and her pretty face had an ugly look on it. She didn't say anything for a long moment but her face held emotion, clearly recalling things she had seen.

"I'm...eating people…" She said softly, distantly and unsteadily. Soul's heart stopped, watching the tears collect in her eyes before running down her cheeks. Her petite frame was shaking with small, silent sobs only her jagged breath making noise.

"I can see them… hear them, feel their blood all over me," she whimpered, shaking against the railing. Soul did not have words for her so instead, he drew her close. Maka let him comfort her, needing the feeling a warm, living body to wash away the bloody memories. That night, Soul hugged her hours it seemed like, firm arms around her until her brain stop stuttering out gruesome pictures. Maka was so grateful whenever Soul laid down beside her, she didn't have the heart to ask herself but wanted it. Not to say it would help keep the dreams stay away but there was comfort in listening to his steady breathing as he rubbed her back, lulling her to sleep like a child.

The night had stayed in her brain, giving her lasting comfort when into the waking hours. Last night too she had felt Soul come to her aid, calming her from a thrashing nightmare and rocking her to sleep. She felt the heaviness in her chest, guilty for disrupting his peace because she couldn't manage her own mind. All this in mind had made Marie's approach so much more convenient, as if someone had put them up to it. Maka tried to push back her anger over, she hated the idea Soul went to someone without her knowledge and talked about _her_ problems with someone else. She felt embarrassed at the whole situation, feeling like a child being ushered to therapy.

"Hey Soul… I'm kind of _pissed_ you went and talked to Marie and Stein about me," Maka snapped as they turned on the street of their apartment. Soul glanced up, surprised to hear her so forward. Soul had expected this, he had known she would figure everything out the moment Marie asked her to restart healing sessions again. There was no point in playing dumb.

"I'm sorry Maka but I have been worried. You haven't been sleeping, or eating or really anything besides meditation and reading, you're isolating yourself from everyone. I can still barely match with your wavelength practicing and you won't confide with _me_," Soul said, his voice harsher than he intended. By the time he was through talking, he realized he had snapped at her, releasing some of his pent frustration. He knew snapping at her like this wasn't going to make it easier, nor did he mean to do it but it had just happened.

Maka was taken aback by his words, not expecting him to just dish it out on her like that. His frustrated tone combined with the worry in his words made her feel guilty. She knew, she _knew_ he was right but did not want to admit to the losing battle she was fighting. The guilt gave away to irritation. She wasn't a child nor did she need someone to treat her as such, especially since Maka was the _reason _Soul was alive. Maka didn't respond immediately, seething in her own anger and Soul took that as his chance.

"Also I'm kind of pissed too. We are supposed to be _partners_ and you're treating me like a kid brother you can't tell secrets to. With all that we've been through together, it kind of pisses me off too how much you're hiding. You've brooding and snappy, not even coming out of your room for dinner after practices. Maka what the _hell_ is going on? I know you're dealing with madness and I know more about it than you're giving me credit for here." Soul was breathless by the time he was done, emotions hot and overflowing from him. Soul had his own pent up frustrations too and coming out and telling her had felt good. '

"Just please talk to me Maka, throw me a bone, goddamnit. I just want to help you, we are supposed to do this together. You told me you would come to me when you could but that months ago now and I'm _still _in the dark."

They had stopped walking, standing in the middle of the street locking in eye contact. Soul didn't dare look away, challenging her to spill her side. Soul wanted her to tell him, even if it ended up with her yelling and Maka chopping him at the end. Maka never looked away, Soul saw the anger simmering in her features. Maka clenched her fists by her side, lips pursed tightly, and brows furrowed together.

"I just feel like a fucking failure and you aren't _fucking helping Soul_," she spat out, barely a whisper. The tone scarred Soul, he had never seen her so angry. Just saying it was overwhelming for Maka with a frenzy of hot emotions. She had felt hopeless in controlling her own mind, something she had always been good at. It felt as if her self discipline was no longer accessible, like her emotions weren't hers anymore, her thoughts felt like someone elses and the voice in her head seemed to grow louder every night.

"I know. _I know._ I'm messed up and I'm trying really hard to fight it but every night my head is ransacked with memories that aren't mine if I wanted your _goddamn_ help I would have _fucking_ asked for it."

"Maka you act like you didn't absorb kishin madness, you act like I didn't nearly lose my consciousness to the black blood madness. This is nothing to do by yourself. You _saved_ me from that bastard demon… why can't you let me help you? Let _us_ help you. Stop acting like you're alone here."

His words did not comfort her, they angered her further. He didn't understand, this madness was beyond consuming. Her thoughts seemed to overrun her at times, slipping into her waking and sleeping hours regardless. Sometimes was just easier to give into it, to allow that barrier to dissolve a little, Maka was unsure if she was able to put anymore effort into the barrier without passing out. Before any other words could be said she pushed past him, their shoulders catching each other's roughly and door slammed open, ringing in his ears long after she was gone.

In light of her and Soul's moment outside, Maka _really _didn't want to go to a dance studio.

"Why exactly are we doing this?"

Soul shrugged, throwing back the rest of his drink before tossing it into a trash can.

"Kid wants us to learn how to dance for graduation since there is a ballroom floor."

Maka looked at Soul weird, she knew how to dance and she was pretty sure he did too considering his music education. In fact she loathed the idea of going back to her childhood studio. Growing up, dance was an important hobby for her, not only had it helped with training as a meister but she also just enjoyed it. Then the divorce between her parents happened and she no longer felt the need for dancing.

The studio was average sized, around half a basketball court with mirrors on all the walls. However, a grande piano now sat stationed in one it's corners with Kid behind it. He was playing a familiar classic piece, something Bach, Soul was sure of it. Maka wanted to see Soul sitting on the bench instead. Liz and Patty sat on the floor, bored as usual but Tsuabki and BlackStar were epically stretching next to them.

"SOUL!" Then BlackStar was next to us, requiring lots of attention from Soul. Shortly after, the dance instructor came out from another room.

"Hi guys!" She greeted with a strange accent. Maka noticed how pretty she was, it was almost startling. Long, straight brown hair fell to waist, her skin a light almond shade, she was tall too. Maka tried her best not to envy but she always felt so flat and childish next to women like her, Tsuabki included.

"My name's Jessah, I'll be your instructor for the next couple of weeks." With that, she wasted little time asking us our names and who we would be partnered with.

"Wait, isn't Kid dancing too? Liz, Patty?" Maka asked, confused.

"Who would play the piano then? Also they know how to dance already, I don't want to be embarrassed by you guys with all the other shinigami there."

Maka gritted her teeth, wanting to tell him off. Opening her mouth to do so, Soul gave her a look and extended his hand as a silent invitation. For a moment, she just had to stare. He looked so handsome with his hair pulled back loosely with a hair tie, a smug grin on his face and piano playing softly in the background.

"She said foxtrot, you think you got this one?" Soul said in a challenging tone.

Maka scoffed. "As if I could forget something so elementary."

Soul saw a flicker in her eyes as she stepped forward, her posture changing to match his. They both waited for the right count before taking off wordlessly. The rhythm was slow, making it too easy for the both of them. He was enjoying this, they were in an intense staring contest neither one of them willing to break. She knew the steps easily but she still gripped his shoulder hard and with controlling intentions.

"Allow him to lead Maka," Jessah snapped, coming behind Maka and knocking her elbow loose. "Elbow loose, shoulders rolled back."

Maka gritted her teeth, trying not to let irritation get the best of her. Or the fact Jessah _touched_ her. She knew how to fucking dance and didn't need some girl telling her how to do it. Maka also did _not_ like how Jessash was looking at Soul through the mirrors. Or how Jessash was relaxing his shoulders with both of her hands like she wasn't standing _right fucking here. _

_Backhand her._

"I think his shoulders are loose enough," Maka spat at her, surprising everyone in the room with her ugliness. Jessash looked at her, wide eyed but took her hands off him. Wordlessly, Jessah let them continue. BlackStar and Tsuabki were the ones who really need the attention anyways.

Soul could sense the tension in her body, the instructor had been right about Maka. Maka and Soul were fighting for control of the dance, despite the fact he should have been swinging her around the dance floor he felt like he was in scythe form and Maka was twirling him around her fingers. Soul was also shocked beyond words to see Maka be so mean to the dance instructor, Maka's green eyes cloudy with an emotion he had never seen on her before, it made his gut twist.

"Maka," Soul said, maintaining eye contact. His grip on her waist tightened a bit, wanting her fall in step with _him._

"Let me lead, I've got you," he whispered to her, Maka's eyes widened a bit and her cheeks flushed at the intimacy in his voice. She wanted to look around and make sure no one was staring at them.

"_No_," she seethed quietly. It was true, she had never been led before and always was in control. That's how she liked it too and she knew Soul's words went further than dance instructions and she still had no interest in handing him the reins. After all she was his meister, she wielded him.

"You've got to trust me first."

She rolled her eyes in response.

Soul felt frustration blossom as the dance class came to a close as he watched Maka continue to fight against him, watching her closely as she scowled deeply anytime Jessah approached them.

Soon enough, dance class was over. Jessah went around thanking everyone and complimenting them or in BlackStar's case, giving constructive criticism.

"Maka, Soul, y'all were great! I can tell this was just a lesson to get rid of the cobwebs! I hope I helped!" The dance instructor gave neither one of them anytime to respond before walking away quickly. Soul shook his head, Maka really had scared her off. Maka in return had her lip curled up in response, anyone with eyeballs could tell Maka did not like Jessah.

"You could be a little nicer, she wasn't all that bad," Soul suggested.

"I didn't like her," Maka said obviously.

"Yeah, we all know," Soul sighed, grabbing his jacket he had taken off. Kid, Liz, Patty, BlackStar, and Tsuabki said their goodbyes, inviting Soul and Maka to dinner with them. Soul politely declined for the both of them while Maka stepped away to use the restroom.

Soul, unable to help himself in an empty studio, sat on the piano bench testing out the keys. It had been awhile since he'd played aside from in his headspace. His fingers played familiar notes, something he knew by heart and without question. He could hear the bathroom door open and close but he played on, knowing how much Maka enjoyed watching him play. The first time they had met, he played her this.

Maka stood in the doorway, not wanting to disturb him. She enjoyed the view from a distance, she knew the song instantly. It was something he played her whenever they first met, a creepy piano recital with sharp, poignant notes. Maka also liked watching him even though she was irritated; she liked the way his face personified the notes that flowed through him, the quick movements of his hands, how his eyes were closed yet aware and completely in control of what was in front of him. She wanted to walk over there and sit next to him and before she could stop, her feet where taking her to him.

Soul felt her sit next to him, her shoulders brushing his. His eyes opened, zooming in on the woman beside him. Her loose pigtails, pieces haphazardly falling around her face, the way her green eyes caught the late evening light. Her face was so intrigued with what he was doing. She silently sat there, watching him. Eyes boldly moving from his moving hands, up his arms, lingering on his chest before meeting his own gaze. He couldn't part his gaze from hers, he liked the way she blushed, pink coloring her cheeks and lips falling open slightly. The room seemed so warm and buzzing with electricity, Soul was engrossed in Maka and unaware he was repeating the same music stanza, he felt himself leaning into her… wondering what her lips tasted like. Such a drastic switch from the yelling happening between them all day. For a change she seemed to be in his same wavelength for the first time in what seemed like forever. Maka seemed to have the same exact idea, within seconds he could feel her breath and his hands went still on the piano. Maka's eyes hadn't left his, she wanted to kiss him. Maka had her wandering thoughts about Soul but in the room alone with him playing her favorite song… it seemed like the thing to do. Her blood rushed in her ears, heart thrumming in her chest.

Soul turned his body toward her now, heart racing pushing back all the thoughts he didn't want to hear. Maka had put herself here, he reminded himself. His hands slowly reached up, trailing from her arm, up the side of her neck. For a moment, he wanted to know what her neck tasted like more than her lips, wanted to feel the soft skin under him. Cupping her cheek, she let out a soft gasp encouraging him further. Maka closed the distance, pressing her lips to his.

Soul was dizzy, drunk on her. God, he dreamt of moments like this recently, even with her badass attitude. With her isolation lately, Soul never thought they would come to this reality. Her mouth was so soft and gentle, moving slowly against his at first before turning into a serious a passionate kisses. One hand cupping her cheek was not enough, he quickly snaked his other arm around her waist, pulling her flush against him. Maka returned it by wrapping one arm around his neck, fingers curling into his hair; her other hand's palm flat against his chest. A soft moan left her throat as Soul's mouth made his way down her neck, savoring every second.

_Just take him and get it over with_

_Finish him, kill him_

The thoughts… the bloodlust erupted through her so rapidly. Her stomach dropped, eyes flew open as her hand, once on his chest, wrapped around his throat. Maka was beyond her own control, feeling the darkness ooze across her lust, almost intensifying it. Lust turned to fear as she threw herself away from him, falling off the piano stool entirely.

"What are we doing?" She gasped, chest heaving. Without another word, she was flying out the door. Leaving Soul shaking and breathless in an empty dance studio.


	5. Chapter 5

Maka was running, sprinting at full speed. She didn't stop running until pavement turned to gravel and gravel turned dirt. She vaguely knew where she was but could not have cared less if she was lost. In fact, she would trade being physically lost than this _feeling_ of lostness. She was out of her fucking mind, she kissed Soul. Soul didn't kiss her, she kissed _him_.

Maka was now walking through the forest, twilight settling into night. She was so consumed in her thoughts, tripping over tree roots and running into low hanging branches left and right. Maka could not understand herself, what would become of them now? How could she let the madness control her like that? Her feelings toward Soul were not romantic in the first place, she did not want romance at all but especially not now whenever she had thoughts of ripping classmates throats out at least once a day. _Especially_ knowing how relationships go, they don't last and she was sure her and Soul's wouldn't be any different. No one was special, everyone got either fucked by life or the person they have a life with. Sometimes both. With that in mind, Maka could control at least part of the equation and so she would. She had her goals and Soul wasn't apart of them but at this rate, she was getting her priorities confused and was jeopardizing it all. Her mind was rapidly becoming unstable as well. She envied everyone around her suddenly. Bitterness also flooded her body, she just craved normalcy. That's all she ever wanted, even as a child. Sure, she admired her mother greatly but did not want to make the same mistakes as her. Because of those mistakes, Maka had a half-there father and left motherless. A mother who occasionally sends her postcards. And now on top of all that, she had another aspect to deal with entirely, the madness enveloping her brain and affecting her actions.

_None of them matter, only you. Your goals are the only ones that matter._

_Kill them_

The irksome voice to her, although she hated everything it said, she agreed this time, somewhat. Her romantic interests were not a priority, they were not goals. Romance was a distraction, a means of confinement. She knew all this but still could feel his mouth on hers. Frustration skyrocketed through her, her teeth sinking into her lips causing the taste of iron on her tongue.

She kept walking and the forest of Death city eventually gave away to the desert that surrounded the city. Taking a seat she let the sand fall through her hands, the tiny grains providing the best distraction.

_What am I going to do now? _Maka questioned herself, she couldn't just pretend it didn't happen. She remembered the hurt look on his face, mixed with shock, she wondered about his thoughts. What was he thinking? What was thinking touching her like that? He knew how she felt about romance, he knew she wanted nothing to do with it.

_It's his fault. _

_He's the reason why you feel like this. _

The voice kept whispering, spiking her emotions. She was shaking, anger releasing into her uncontrollably. How dare he do this to her? Acting like he had the right to her… she hated how he ranted on about how he knew, how he understood but he never understood anything. He had always had it easy! He resented his perfect family! He left his parents, brother, a career as a famous _musician_. Always worried about how _cool_ he was, knowing he always had other options. _This is it for me, this all I have. I don't have anything to fall back on _Maka thought, seething. Maka had all that just to watch it be taken away by lies and incompetence. He didn't understand the panic she had felt against Asura. She was _alone_. Just as she was inevitably. _Alone._ How dare he try to convince her otherwise.

Maka was beyond her own thoughts. The barrier was thrashing wildly about, it felt as if someone, some_thing_, was trying to cut through a rubber wall. It bent, expanded and continuously thinned. Whatever was attempting to break through this wall was winning.

Kid stood in the dance studio, inspecting the area as a crime scene after hearing Soul's long rant.

"So you're telling me that yo-no _she_ kissed _you_ and then ran out?" Confusion and well as disbelief evident in Kid's tone. Soul was about to lose his goddamn mind, he had already explained the story multiple times, what was so hard to grasp? Soul left out the part about her gripping his throat, needing to ask her what the hell happened first.

"_Yes_! Listen she's been gone for over two days now, please stop asking such stupid questions!"

Kid seemed to be thinking but not quick enough. His arms crossed, he was worried but still struggled to provide some sort of explanation.

"Why don't you report it to my Father?" Soul nearly fainted at the idea of telling anyone else, let alone Lord Death himself.

"Okay so yeah, Kid, let's tell your dad… allow me to explain that Maka kissed me and then _ran away_ with her fucking father standing next to me. Please tell me exactly how well that is going to go for me!" Sould all but yelled, arms crossed tightly. Realization struck Kid's face.

"Oh… yeah… now that you put it like."

Soul wanted to destroy things with as the frustration ripped through his body. And anger. He was so fucking angry. At Maka, at himself, at this whole fucking world at this point. In the different parts of his brain too, he wanted to cry and rewind time. He opted for anger for the time being, knowing that moping wasn't the best use of his energy. He could mope when he knew Maka was alive and safe at the very least, his hurt pride from her rejection could wait.

"Just say you guys had an argument… you did already talk to Stein and Marie about her irritability so it wouldn't be a stretch. Actually, it seems far more likely than Maka kissing you. I couldn't even imagine Maka letting a man lay a hand on her, let alone kissing one herself." Soul wasn't sure why the words made him so angry or upset. He knew it was no secret Maka hated romance or anything of that nature. Despite his contempt for Kid's side comment, Soul considered going for it because there was a lot of truth in it.

"What if… what if she just doesn't want to be contacted?" Soul said, voice quieter. Kid gave him a firm look.

"Regardless, this is not that way Maka should go about it. It is dangerous for her to just disappear like this. She is inclined toward her own space but it is also a factor that everyone agrees she is struggling with madness residing her mind. Perhaps we have all given her too much credit, I was watching her soul during the dance lessons, you aren't out of line to worry like this."

It was like physical weight taken from Soul's shoulders, he was grateful beyond words for Kid's validation. He had spent the whole night second guessing his worries, in fact he hadn't slept at all.

"Let's go make a report to Lord Death."

Soul explained to the best of ability, shaking. As expected, Spirit had been right there. It was obvious that Spirit was fuming, livid with white hot anger.

"What the hell did you say to my daughter, you filthy vermin?" The words hurt regardless of the cover story, he knew that Maka ran off because of his actions even if it was a kiss and not some argument.

"I…" Soul faltered, unsure where to go next.

Kid saw the scene unfolding, stepping in for Soul he explained to Spirit. "Death Scythe, I understand she is your daughter but I need you to be more logical. This is not Maka like behavior regardless of the argument or what may or may not have been said. It is under my belief she is being controlled by the madness. It would explain her sudden isolation and moodiness, Soul has also reported to Stein and Maire about his concerns for her mental well being."

Spirit's nostrils flared. "And you didn't tell me!"

"So have you come to us to find her?" Lord Death stepped in, Spirit quieted, stepping back while he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Yes!" Lord Death began laughing at Soul's answer, even Kid gave a surprised look.

"No one can leave this city without my knowledge and as of right now, her soul is still within the boundaries of the city."

Soul stood up in a blur. "Then where is she!"

Lord Death waggled his finger in Soul's face, his attitude never serious. "Now why would I know that? Maka wanted alone time!"

"I can't believe him!" Kid exclaimed, huffing in frustration.

"Your telling me," Soul said sourly. An idea occurred to him. "Hey Kid, why don't we use your soul perception to find her?"

Kid looked at him, face contorting. "I am not nearly as talented at that as Maka is or my Father. I'm not even sure he's that good at it, he just has barriers around the city, sensing someone and pinpointing them are different."

Soul hated this, he couldn't stand any of this. How was he expected to deal with it?

"Have you checked with Crona?" Kid asked, Soul nodded not looking up from the ground, watching the pavement cracks under his shoes.

"I checked his place first."

"Then why is he standing in front your apartment?"

Soul approached the boy who always seemed to be fidgeting no matter the circumstances but even with that in mind, he could see something was wrong with Crona.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I… I think Maka not doing so good... She seems a little mad... saying she's g-going to... leave Death City, I jus-"

Soul lunged forward, grabbing his frail shoulders. "Where is she? Where is she going?"

Crona was wide eyed, sputtering out answers. "I think she went to Lord Death to request permission… also…. She said something about…" Crona struggled, making Soul impatient.

"Spit it out."

"Maka said she doesn't want to be your meister anymore."

With that, Soul was running in the direction he just came back from, he had to clear the air. He needed to know _why_. Why, why couldn't she talk to him? Why was she being so cowardly? Couldn't she look him in the face and tell him herself?

Spirit stared, shocked at the request as well as the explanation. He hated to be defending Soul at a time like this but it was what he had.

"I am sure Soul can match your wavelength with more practice or you can request another partner!"

"Please! Maka! For your papa!" Spirit begged with Maka as she left the Death room. She had requested permission to withdraw from the DWMA and travel as an unarmed meister, similar to what Maka's mom had done. Spirit was having all sorts of flashbacks, watching his wife walk away from the life they had built.

"Listen Spirit," Maka spat. "I don't want to be here anymore. This place makes me _miserable_ so get out of my way. Mom had the right idea of leaving."

Maka had been informed that Soul was actively searching for her, even making an official report to Lord Death with Kid. It made Maka livid to think he would do that to her, if she wanted to be found she would haven't been sleeping at Crona's. Soul couldn't even rationalize the simplest of equations, it was amazing Maka had put up with him this long. She had only ever been held back by him, especially knowing she had a weapon form too, why was she sticking around? Blackness corroded her thoughts, creating a dark space.

Leaving the Death room, Maka knew she needed to gather her things from the apartment. Making her way down the familiar streets, she sensed a familiar soul coming toward her rapidly. Maka didn't even want to see Soul's face, let alone talk to him. He wasn't for her and she did not have in her explain why nor did she have the words to explain the fear that rattled her bones at the idea of staying another night in that cramped apartment.

_No one so weak could ever help you_

Maka ducked into a small shop, sensing his presence coming toward her rapidly, pretending to be reading a travel magazine. She felt him come to a stop, she slightly peeked over the border of the magazine, watching him through the window.

There he was, standing there dumbfounded in the street intersection, spinning rapidly and scanning the hoards of people. She watched his red eyes scran, eyes eventually glancing toward the shop. Jerking the paper in front of her face and hiding her body behind the rack as nonchalante as she could manage. She felt their connection burning, something she had been pushing back the past couple of days. The words were weak but she could hear the small words floating through the soul link they shared.

_Maka, Maka, Maka, please talk, Maka._

Hearing his voice, so sad and defeated made a twinge of emotions shoot through her. Whatever emotion she might have felt was quickly replaced by anger for him. He had no right to Maka or her time, in fact she did not like that they were close enough to be able to speak through soul link.

_A weakling, someone holding you back. _

_He was the reason your death weapon never awakened_

_Take care of him_

Unsure what the voice meant, Maka dropped the magazine once he ran out of sight and continued to their small place to collect her things. She was ready to be gone, to have full control of her life and everything in it. Sometimes change _was_ a good thing.


	6. Chapter 6

_Six years later…._

Maka made her way to her coffee shop, laptops slung into her tote and phone pressed against her ear.

"Okay listen, here's what I can do, let me finish up pinpointing security breaches and I will call over to Andrea."

Hanging up, she immediately dialed Andrea pleased to have been answered on the first ring.

"What's up boss?" Andrea asked casually in Italian, rapid keyboard typing in the background.

"Okay so Mason just let me know he has a solid lead in Switzerland with the group of rogue witches, apparently they have placed a barrier and soul protect over an abandoned church."

"Wow, _so_ original," Andy snickered, Maka chuckled in response too. Jokes aside, they had been tracking this particular group for over a year. They had caused mayhem lately and Mason had even heard much more disturbing rumors about the group. Rumor has it that they had intentions of resurrecting powerful dead witches such as Medusa and Achrne, this group had already successfully created many Kishin eggs. It was unknown exactly how many rogue witches were involved, making matters even worse.

In the past six years, Maka had made quite a spot in the world for herself. Admittedly, she left the DWMA on bad terms even with the permission of the previous Lord Death, which was taken over by his son, Kid, shortly thereafter. Thankfully, Kid, now Lord Death, had allowed Maka to continue her mission of self discovery. She spent the first two years learning to master her scythe form, also becoming the first meister in history to be both even though Maka technically had graduated as a meister and on top of all that, she never even walked the stage. Just had a congratulations from Lord Death in a quick mirror chat. Which was fine by her, especially at that time she did _not_ need to be at DWMA.

Being the talented individual she was, previous Lord Death quietly worked her into a diplomacy position with the Allied Witches. Almost immediately she had been forced to pair Andrea, a witch who had been forthcoming about her learning as witch, going as far as to offer help to Maka with madness purging. Purging madness prior to the witch alliance had been anything short of dream but with new information obtained from the witches, DWMA had discovered it was very much so possible. In the past five years, Maka had been an irreplaceable test subject for madness purging.

Maka and Andrea quickly briefed themselves, ending the phone call Maka got to work. While at the coffee shop, Maka sent countless emails updating her superiors of their new evidence.

The past six years had been wild but worth it. Maka left the DWMA, immediately immersing herself in work. At first, she was in southern California tracking a Kishin egg whenever she had been paired with Andrea, an allied witch from Houston, Texas. Never in her right mind had she expected to find such a partner. Andrea was smart, cunning and detailed oriented, hyperactive, not to mention her research in madness had been all but enlightening. Andy had been a mentor to Maka of the sorts.

Quickly Andrea and Maka became close, calling themselves partners without notice. Andrea was a scientist of sorts, intrigued with the vast amount of madness inside of Maka and even hellbent on helping her handle her heavy load. Maka, on the other hand, desperately needed the madness purging and Andrea helped without question. Andy introduced a common witch practice, runes. Runes were a deeply embedded magical tattoo of the sorts, runes held different types of weight depending on the rune itself. Andy could sense the extreme madness in Maka and offered help, knowing that Maka needed the relief before her sanity was sacrificed. Maka had even learned to manipulate basic witchcraft, working on creating a soul protect around her soul; admittedly Maka had not succeed at it but hopefully the kinks could be practiced out.

Maka was fast at work whenever she felt a familiar soul making their way to her. Jerking up, she saw Mason coming into the coffee shop, her soul calmed a bit. However, Mason looked exhausted as he fell into the chair across her.

"That was fast, what happened?"

Mason signed, running a hand through his curly dark hair.

"Yeah Andy just reserved summoned me. Well, I found a meister and his weapon slaughtered and the pieces of their body hung to trees around the church." Maka's gut dropped.

"Who? Do you know?" Maka questioned forcefully.

Mason shrugged, sighed heavily. "No, I don't but I already made the report and sent it to Lord Death and Lady Athena." Maka nodded, muttering a response as she finished her emails. Maka was considered a leader among their group therefore required to keep DWMA and the Witch alliance updated on their movements.

Mason filled her in on the details of what he had found, all details causing her gut to churn. The situation continuously seemed to get worse, it seemed like they were not working fast enough to keep up with this group of witches and they seemed to be working toward a big move with more frequent meetings, more dead meisters and death weapons and even slaughtered allied witches. The thought made Maka uneasy, she breathed deeply to calm herself. Slamming her laptop shut, she stood up.

"Okay, let's go back to the apartment and prepare a full report."

Maka and Andrea shared a spacious apartment in the middle of Rome, Italy. Maka settled comfortably on their couch. Maka quickly filled in Andrea, who was present at their breakfast bar with countless papers spread out beneath her. Maka couldn't help but notice how Andy had haphazardly styled her thick dreads in a messy bun, dark skin shining against the golden chains around her neck and wrists.

Andy listened closely, referring to every detail that did not align with her predictions.

"Okay, so they tortured and strung more bodies of DWMA members, this is clearly a message or a ritual. It is possible that what we are seeing are experiments and there's no telling if it went good or bad. I can't say exactly what their intent is but it's not good for us," Andy concluded. Maka nodded in agreement.

"I'll send Mason to DWMA and the Court to relay our concerns."

The day came to a close, the report had to be detailed and transcribed in two different languages. All three of them were working late into the evening, finishing a couple hours before midnight. Andy sighed loudly, pulling her wavy dreads from the big bun.

"So drinks?" Mason grinned, Andy and Maka shared a look remembering the bottle of russian vodka a couple days ago. They both shrugged at the same time, jumping off the couch in a fit of giggles before running, literally, into their rooms to change out of pajamas.

Andy had definitely rubbed off on Maka throughout the years, for example her love for drinking and her wardrobe. Maka almost considered her addiction to clothes a problem, almost. Part of her also blames Italy… all the clothes here were just so pretty. Andrea had mercilessly teased Maka for her lack of "drip" and soon began buying all sorts of outfits, shoes, jewelry as they traveled killing Kishin eggs. Now Maka needed no help from her partner, she had plenty of drip by herself.

The fit for tonight included a pair of black leather pants with baggy tan thigh high boots over them. Andrea had bought her shirt what seemed like ages ago, a simple white shirt that hung off her shoulders with a scooping neckline, dark rune tattoos left peeking out around her exposed shoulders. Maka loved how it emphasized her bust, especially with the bra she was wearing under it. Maka just ran a comb through her waist long hair, proving to be the most time consuming part of her routine. Maka quickly clipping in big, dangly gold earrings, matching bracelets, and threw on a tan trench coat before she ran out the door to catch up with her crew.

Andy never disappointed in the dress department despite her outwardly masculine appearances. A thicker golden chain hung on her chest, a black and red silk button shirt neatly tucked in khaki slacks with polished black loafers. Andrea dressed better than any man Maka had ever seen, they should take notes.

Maka walked up to Andrea still inches a couple shorter than her in her heeled boots, handing Andy the house keys not trusting herself without pockets. Andry chuckled stuffing them into her pocket, passing Maka her gloves and tiny clutch that held the bare necessities.

"Ready, pretty?" Andrea asked opening the door to the cold Italian February. They walked a couple blocks away to their usual bar, grateful for their late night coffee and bar. The place was nice, local music during the week and the top charts on the weekends. The dance floor always had people on it, people smoking cigars in the corner and booths lining the walls. They settled into their usual spot next to the stage, too loud for most folks but they didn't mind. It was close to the bar too.

"What are we thinking tonight?"

"No vodka," Maka inquired quickly, making Andrea laughing loudly.

"I agree, also no gin… those martinis had me fucked up for days," Mason complained, Maka had almost forgotten about that night almost a month ago. It had been _someone's_ birthday and then suddenly they were plastered and jumping into their hot tub at five am.

"So what I am getting out of this is that we should drink brown liquor, got it," Andrea said, deciding on their drink of choice tonight. She quickly returned with a bottle of cognac. Maka perked up, the last time she drank Hennessey was in France which resulted in an extensive shopping spree as well as, according to Mason, a make out session with Andrea.

Mason started laughing. "Oh boy, so that's how it's going to be tonight… one moment the henny is nasty as fuck and the next Maka is nasty as fuck." Maka felt her cheeks heat up but shrugged as nonchalant as she could manage knowing the truth in the words. Andrea poured us all up a drink on the rocks, holding up her glass for a cheers.

"Cheers to zeroing in on this group _and_ sending out the report on the same day, good job Mason on the footwork," Andrea announced in her business voice not changing her tone she continued.

"Now lets get fucked up!"

And boy did they get drunk, before the night was over Maka was dancing with Andy to some R&B house music. Dancing was amongst the things Maka had grown to love again, although never in the studio or without the help of alcohol. Maka stood in front of Andrea, mimicking her swaying and hip movements. They finished the bottle just before the bar shut down before the night, Mason called a cab home but Andy and Maka opted for the short walk claiming they were sober enough. They were not. The usual fifteen minute walk took over half an hour because they kept stopping to some drunk endeavors, like pretending to be a stripper on a light pole.

"Okay shawty, drop it," Andy howled with laughter watching Maka try to shake her ass in the restricting material, unsuccessfully. Andy humored her, throwing some loose dollars on her. Maka laughed so hard, heeled boots slipping on the thin ice around the base of the light pole. Maka was grateful Andy seemed to see that coming and caught her before she face planted.

"That's enough for you drunk ass."

Maka stuck her tongue out. "You're drunk too. You just happened to catch me."

Andy was still grinning but her words serious. "Don't matter. I'll always catch you."

Maka rolled her eyes but let Andy help her walk the rest of the way, liking how she shared her coat with Maka. The sun was coming up whenever they opened the door into the lobby of their apartments. Someone already sat at the front desk, looking bored while slowly flicking through the magazine. Maka and Andy giggled all the way up the stairs falling all over the place. At last they made it into the apartment after several attempts at opening the locks.

"We are soooo drunk," Andrea kept laughing, kicking off shoes and jacket. Maka found herself watching Andy unbutton her shirt while pouring them some water in the kitchen. Her breath quickened a little seeing exposed flesh. Maka hadn't ever been attracted to women before, at least not until Andy. It only gave her more confidence knowing that Andy reminded her of how beautiful she thought Maka was, even showering her with gifts regularly or home cooked dinners. It was the small things, like putting up Maka's laundry after the inking her skin with runes making Maka too exhausted and hurt to do anything but sleep. Maka loved their dysfunctional relationship and she loved Andy even more for never pushing it, always content with what Maka each drank some water, taking supplements for the headache before it could fester then went to bed in their own separate rooms, Maka could not ask for more.

Morning came at them fast, rapid knocking sounds ringing through their apartment. Both of them were up in a flash, meeting in the livingroom to investigate the harsh assault on their door. Still in a tee shirt and loose sleep shorts, Andrea flung the door open with attitude.

"What in god's name do you think you are doing knocking that loud at this hour, Mason?"

Mason looked frantic. "We've been summoned to the Court _today_. The whole council will be there and we have to present our case."

What a beautiful way to start their day.

Quickly, they had their bags packed for a five day stay and were fast on their flight to upstate New York. Maka was hungover like a highschooler the Sunday after Prom night yet Andrea was light on her feet, smirk smile plastered on her face.

"How you holding in there Bon?" Andy asked, using a nickname Maka had been given. Bon was short for Bonnie since one year they dressed up as Bonnie and Clyde for halloween. Maka groaned in response, resting her head Andrea's shoulder trying to null out the pain of her headache, she could also feel the distinct barrier around her mind loosen. The power of runes were easy to feel within her mind, therefore easy to tell whenever their potency began to wane. She was three days overdue for rune scripture but they had been so busy this past week Maka had intended on Andrea restrengthening them today. Andrea would still have to redo them tonight, it just sucked for Maka considering she would have to productive the next morning.

The runes were increasingly helpful, some runes provided a physical exit for madness. Prior to the Witches Alliance, death weapons and meister could only use methods of meditation to calm the madness or the rare person had healing wavelengths that calmed madness much quicker. But now working and sharing information with witches, death weapons and meisters were aware of a method of madness _removal_.

However that's not say runes are a save all. Runes hurt to get and they hurt for days afterwards, depending on the strength they could make someone sick and usually resulted in the person having light flu symptoms, similar yet more intense to side effects of vaccines. Maka had gotten better at handling the magic being injected into her skin, she didn't usually vomit or was completely out of commission. Maka did preferred to have them drawn or strengthened in the morning and then rest for the remainder of the day.

"Andrea, I need you to redo the ink," Maka said, referring to her runes. She nodded in conformation.

"Tomorrow morning?" Maka nodded to the question before closing her eyes and attempted to catch some sleep before the plane landed.

They were there all too soon. It was cold in Italy but far more bearable than New York's cold, this cold seemed to penetrate every layer of clothing right to her skeleton. Shaking, Maka walked briskly across the airstrip into the greetings building.

The Court was so pretty, even in the icy unforgiving snow and ice. Tall trees surrounded them, rolling hills standing all around them, the sun peaked out from between the clouds despite the bitter cold. Her crew made it into the warmth, checking themselves in and gathering their luggage. Andrea of course grabbing both theirs, only allowing Maka to carry her purse. Maka couldn't help rolling her eyes at the behavior. Andrea was all about chivalry, her southern roots always coming through whenever she opened doors for Maka despite full arms of suitcases. Mason was lost in his phone, not even bothering to help Andrea.

"You could have gotten the door jackass," Maka commented, slapping his arm. Mason said nothing just waved his hand at her

dismissively without looking up from his screen. Andrea and Maka of course shared a room, Mason in the adjoining room to the left. Maka quickly undressed and changed into her business suit, preparing herself to talk in front of over fifty people. Maka debated between two outfits.

"Wear the Dior pinstripe suit with the dark red blouse under it," Andrea said, mixing the pieces from the suits. Maka hummed in approval, dressing quickly. They had an hour and Maka had every intention of devouring a late breakfast. Maka quickly swept her long hair into a bun on top of her head, holding it with little red clips that matched her under shirt.

"Red lips or just gloss?"

Andrea looked thoughtful, staring the outfit and then glancing back up to Maka's face.

"Just gloss."

With that, they were off. Andrea didn't bother changing since she wouldn't be speaking. Andrea still looked good, it was a common fact that Andrea always looked good. She wore her stample white button up shirt and khaki slacks, dark brown shoes with plain gold buckles on the top and her casual gold necklace and watch. She did redo her dreads, styling in half up half down and brushing her pretty white teeth.

Yet again, it was like Maka was naked to the cold. Plus her stomach was empty, nothing sounded as good as a hot plate and hot coffee. Maka ate her oatmeal so fast, Andrea was sure she didn't taste it.

"Does your tongue still work? Or is it burnt off?" Andy asked amused, watching Maka lean back happily sipping on her coffee. All cream, no sugar. It reminded her of Maka's personality, seemingly innocent at first glance but shockingly strong.

"Don't you worry about my tongue, ma'am," Maka laughed. Andy looked at her, eyebrows raised suggestively, in return Maka rolled her eyes.

"Keep rolling your eyes, they're gonna get stuck."

"Then stop giving me reasons to roll them."

Maka seemed to like giving reasons to Andy but she didn't mention it. Andrea threw back the rest of her breakfast before throwing away the trash and washing her hands.

"Hey where's Mason?" Andy asked, grabbing her coat off the back of the cafeteria chair as they left, slinging it over shoulder casually.

"Setting up the projectors in the meeting room and making copies of the report so everyone can follow along."

"This is why you're in charge of all this stuff, I would've just winged the hell out of that."

Maka laughed and agreed. Andy was more action and less planning but that's what worked well about them, somewhat. It would be a lie however not to mention they had rubbed off on each other over the years, Maka found herself more bold as well as more confident in herself and Andrea had adopted a slight caution in her actions that never existed before.

They made into the big meeting room, large windows spilling temporary sunlight. In fact, the room was a little warm. Only a couple of people had arrived, most of them flipping through the freshly printed packets. Her back to the door, she felt the presence of soul's come through the door. Shaking off her suit's coat, she laid it down and gathered her detailed packet filled with personal speaking points. Scrolling on the computer screen, going over the powerpoint one more time before talking through it. She felt a soul come down the corridor, Lord Death's but the soul behind him made her gut twist sickeningly. Soul.

Maka was so glad her back was the everyone still, equally thankfully for her soul perception abilities for the fairwarning. She felt everyone settled into seats, the sound of pages flipping making her feel nervous for the first time in her life. _You've got this Maka. It's just Soul. This is business. Nothing is going to happen. _Maka fought the paranoia. One more deep breath and she turned around.

Her eyes instinctively found Andy's, seeking that calming gaze she gives Maka whenever she was freaking out. Andrea could sense soul's with ease but being fighting partners, Maka knew that Andy knew she was freaking out. Andrea nodded slowly to her, an encouraging smile. She mouthed the words _kill it_.

Maka's eyes scanned the whole room, taking in the different faces, some she had never seen before and certainly never seen them all together in one room like this. Lady Athena and Lord Death sat at the front, their personal weapons standing behind them. Maka knew Lord Death had taken a new Death Scythe but it never crossed her mind it would be Soul himself. She tried not to look at him, she really did but failed epically.

She hadn't seen Soul in almost four years, since the last time she went to the DWMA whenever Kid had been coronated the new Lord Death. She had only seen him in passing but she did not forget his resentful red eyes as she pushed passed the crowds as he stood next to the new Lord Death. It almost pained her to remember he had not budged to come toward her, just hateful red eyes locked on her.

This time was somewhat different. He did not look angry, he looked bored standing against the wall behind his meister. His eyes lazily scanned the room, slowly meeting hers. She forced her poker face over her features, determined not to give into her pounding heart. She briefly made eye contact before letting her eyes finish glancing around. A couple breaths and she began.

"Good afternoon everyone, I am Maka Alburn and my crew have been at the heart of an investigation regarding a large group of rogue witches and the recent overall spike in Kishin egg production."

With that Maka took off, casting her nervousness and paranoia aside as she flicked through the power point, going over small analysts.

"Mason Peng, Andrea Calihart and myself have been the only three conducting investigators but it is clear this group is larger than initially predicted. My colleague has brought up the fact the targeting of DWMA members and other witches is likely meant of some sort of experimental development which was later confirmed by a rogue. However we still lack the data as well as the resources to be able to draw accurate conclusions about motives and goals of theirs."

Maka made direct eye contact with Andy again, needing the security of her gaze as she felt similar panic from earlier crawl up her chest. Maka saw a hand raise, her gut dropped to see Soul coming forth with commentary.

"So you are telling us that after over a year, this is all the data you've been able to collect?" Everyone in the room recognized it was not exactly polite but Maka knew the question was designed to bully her, she felt resentment of his words and hatred for his behavior. It was so pitiful and low. _Had he not grown up? Just a little? _She bit the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to curse him out right then. The air buzzing with intensity, she was at a loss for words not sure if she should defend herself since he was technically her superior now.

"I believe that question was asked with derogatory intent… and to answer your question Death Scythe, yes. As mentioned by Ms. Alburn, we've only had three sets of hands on this for the past year on top of assigned missions, we have also collected disturbing rumors amongst witch caverns and bars concerning this group is unexpectedly large," Andrea's voice came to her rescue, flipping the table on him and making him seem like the incompetent one.

"So if you have questions, I would suggest you wait until the end," Andrea snapped back before taking a seat. Soul's resenting look was no longer on Maka, instead he stepped back silently glaring toward Andrea. The air grew awkward and Maka found it hard to remember where she was or what she was going to say next. _The rumors Andy mentioned_, Maka thought to herself. Clearing her throat, she continued and skipped ahead in the powerpoint to the part with Mason's audio recording.

"Moving on to the rumors Ms. Calihart mentioned, Mason Peng went undercover and scouted the caverns, gathering information to the best of his abilities. This audio recording relays some of the rumors we had suspected." Maka plays the recording, scrolling to the end of the powerpoint.

Mason's voice was gruff and hushed at first before it cleared up.

"-ead witches in the forest are allied witches… they consider allied witches traitors and use them as test subjects," a woman's voice spoke quietly. Mason nonchalantly bought the woman a drink, introducing himself as a newcomer, a warlock relocating to more quiet secluded area to practice rogue witchcraft more safely and within twenty minutes in, he had her spilling her local information.

"Truthfully it's a dangerous time for us witches… allied witches will hunt you for being rogue but rogue witches will kill you too… just a lot more painfully," the woman shuddered, her voice shaking.

"We've had to find safety in numbers. I think the Alter has the right idea banning together, I heard they are giving the DWMA and the Court a real scare lately." Maka pauses the recording right there.

"Isn't alcohol amazing?" Maka laughed.

Maka let Mason finish out the briefing and take questions, needing to leave that room. All the emotional stress as well physical stress from the hangover was causing the runes mental barrier to degrade quicker than predicted. Needing physical relief from the madness, Maka books it straight to her room changing into her gym clothes in a flash. Andrea caught her as she was leaving the bedroom.

"Hey, hey now is there anything I can do for you? What he did… that was uncalled for."

Maka nodded, trying not to let the irritation project. She felt Asura's madness in her thought, testing, tempting her to give into the bloodlust. She had come to know it well much to her disgust. Maka knew what that meant now. Instead she pushed past Andrea, not wanting to be touched.

"Yes please redo my runes whenever I come back." Maka did not wait for a response, instead she took off toward the gym.

The gym wasn't empty but she didn't care. Stalking through straight to the Maize bag, she kept her eyes on the ground briefly remembering to shove her mouth guard and ear plugs in. She popped her neck, shoulders and elbows and projected her aggression into the medium sized black ball hanging in front of her. Maka's anger buzzed through her bones, coiling her muscles in her chest and back as she continuously slammed forward. Black, bloody thoughts infested her brain, she did her best to use her breath and firey movements as meditation.

The madness paid its dues, reminding her of those those first several months while she hunted alone for pre-developed Kishin eggs. She had never broke the law but she knew she enjoyed their deaths, she loved the slicing and dicing. Her guts vibrated in weird, almost intoxicating ways as their breaths always garled in the back of their mouths. Sure, she had felt dirty but time and time again, despite feelings of guilt later, she still drug out the kills. Maka had ensured every time it had been a bloody endeavor; no matter what justification her guilty conscious summoned later, Maka continued to do it. Her guts shivered now, remembering the game of cat and mouse she had put on in Oskana one night.

A part of the brain, the part that always made excuses and conjured lies to make itself feel better, always reminded her she _had_ done her job and killed the targets successfully. Looking back at her ramifications, it made her sick. Her blood lust had been through the roof as well as her paranoia. The paranoia was something that seemed blandly manageable to the high she got from killing.

She wasn't sure how long she'd been going, switching between uppercuts to high kicks to bring exhaustion to her quickly. Maka was grateful to see the gym empied, freely moving the the full sized punching bags. Maka had always been a fan of fighting with her legs considering it was the strongest part of her body and most useable while she wielded her arms as scythes. She had gotten agile and perceptive with her own death weapon, it had taken a lot of time training taijutsu. Maka had considered herself skilled leaving the DWMA at combat but quickly realized how little she really knew once seeing Andrea's taijutsu.

Just looking at Andrea you could tell she could fight, in fact she had been rather intimidated whenever they first began working together. She was a rather tall woman, dense arms and shoulder and good posture. Although it was obvious that she was a woman, Andy frequently exuded an almost overwhelming masculine presence, sometimes more than natural born men could. Andrea was thoughtful, knowledgeable and rather helpful as a partner. She was the one who had fine tuned Maka's hand to hand combat. Maka had been unaware but she was somewhat of an observational science experiment for Andrea too. Andrea was an expert in rune based witchcraft, apparently a very old, southern creole witch practice. Maka was volunteered by the late Lord Death without her knowledge at the time to be the bases of hypotheses and predictions of whether or not witchcraft could be applicable towards madness extraction in humans, in particular humans with powerful spiritual essences.

Magic was a powerful thing, a potent mix of personal soul energy and nature

energy. Nature energy was naturally volatile, in fact it was the essence of its energy and the reason why it took a certain types of souls to control, funnel and/or convert it into weapons or spells. Nature energy also tended to emphasize the person's character, with it being good or bad depended on the person. The intensity of nature energy alone killed humans more often than not whenever injected directly. However, research had been created in attempts to convert humans into witches; at first for malicious and for war efforts by Archneaphobia but then later picked up by the Witches Alliance as a sort of truce offering.

Andrea was among three other witches currently involved, each an expert in differing types of magic. Andrea's methods so far had shown most effective in the long term treatment much to Maka's luck.

Maka vividly remembers the first time she saw Andrea drawing a rune; she hadn't been making a new one, just tracing over an existing one but it peaked her curiosity. Andrea had to do little explaining and convincing for Maka to willingly be a test subject. At that point, she had been desperate for some release from the madness, insanity blossoming into her brain deeper than ever that festered like an infectious wound in the hot sun. Streaks of madness had become so intense, often commuting the bloody dreams that satisfied her like wet ones.

Maka's first runes had been quite the experience. In fact, Maka was sure she was going to die. It was like the rune sizzled into her skin where Andrea had touched the thin metal rod but it did not stop there. The heat on her continued to spill like molten rock into her bloodstream, The pain so intense she never heard herself screaming before she passed out. Upon waking up, Maka discovered she had completely lost her voice.

Thankfully, runes became easier to bare with the help of rigorous training from Andrea mostly involving insane amount of meditation. Maka once meditated without food or water for almost three days with Andrea's watchful eye. The goal had been to force her to eventually expand her power soul wavelength and soul perception abilities together, creating her a weak radar for nature energy. At best, she could sense it rapidly charging around her and even touch it at times in her hands and soul but even with five years of regular training she still unable to convert or assemble it in some sort of weapon, like runes or spells.

Maka dedication to the craft endeared Andrea sure but she soon realized it was becoming dangerous. As previously mentioned, its energy is volatile and simply not very compatible to human souls. Shinigami, including many witches, possessed larger and denser souls capable to mold such high strung energy. It was harmful to human souls no matter how spiritually powerful the individual was and Maka was no exception. Andrea had grown far too fond of Maka to allow her to keep hurting herself, straining her soul far beyond it breaches time and time again.

Andrea saw right through whatever facade Maka tried to hide behind, she was seeking control and saw a way to it with magic training and drawing runes into her skin. Andrea was able to read her medical file which was long and extensive and very insightful to her character. It was obvious this girl had something to prove, always seeking power through iron fisted self control conveniently landing her in the infirmary often.

Since leaving DWMA Maka had become quite the character, crossing into unknown territory in between human spiritual power to shinigami like cosmic power possessing six different runes.

In the six years gone, immersed in experimental training Maka got grown to be a legendary badass and with that Maka had plenty of opportunities to become a death scythe but continuously passed it up, much to Kid's disappointment. In addition to Maka hating the idea of going back to Death City, which made her shudder at the thought, she also _loathed_ the idea of someone wielding her. In fact, she would never allow that to happen. Death Scythes were a dying breed, at least theoretically with hopes of Witch's Allanice. Witches were only considered rogue whenever humans or DWMA members had been killed, likewise with Allied witches that were murdered by DWMA. All nonlethal crimes were subjected to a duel system trail with lawyers and a mixed jury, however it had been a bumpy road with kinks still needing to be worked out. Things had changed so rapidly and drastically, Maka hardly felt any different yet like a completely new person. Maka the meister was a distant memory, one she struggled with still at times but almost entirely left behind for a new, lighter Maka. Things weren't perfect by any means and she still had her moments but she was proud of the change she created in her life.

After beating her body into exhaustion she was ready for a light dinner, followed by an annoying touch up session and bed.

The meeting let out finally around dinner time and Soul was starving even though his appetite was the furthest thing from his thoughts. His mind kept replaying Maka, it had been so long since he had seen her. Soul was completely obvious to the conversation happening amongst him until someone inquired a response from him.

"Huh?"

"I asked what your opinion is on the whole briefing… do you really think they can resurrect dead witch souls?"

Soul didn't care, not at the moment so he shrugged in response. He hardly listened to anything that had been said during the meeting, instead opted for reading over the briefing packet at a later time. He was jet lagged and rather irritated to be there at the Court in general. Soul was already in flight whenever Liz and Patty mentioned that it was a specialized scouting group in Italy, never in his right mind did the pieces fall into place until he was walking off the plane and receiving headcounts and security measures.

"He's in another world," Liz said from beside him and for once, he agreed with her. He was stuck between repeating memories and wishful thoughts. Liz and Patty talked with themselves, mentioning the gym and spa on the grounds. Perhaps that's what he needed.

He remembered walking in and seeing Maka. He knew she would be there, he also knew she would be leading the meeting but nothing could have braced him for what he saw. The Maka he remembered was not the Maka that had stood in front of him today. She had gained weight, in a good way, looking like a familiar stranger, perhaps an older relative of Maka Alburn. The person that stood before him was covered in traditional witch runes, covering the tops of her hands to her fingertips with lacy black designs. She looked like her outfit had came straight off a runway, a red silk button down shirt paired with a perfectly ironed pair of striped slacks and tall strappy black heels, toes painted black and covered in similar black ink as her hands. Her hair piled on top of her head in a swooping bun clipped together with sparkly red clips, golden jewelry flashing loudly on her throat and ears. The side of her neck was tattooed with a large hibiscus flower adding odd imagery to her otherwise business attire.

He hated that stupid poker face she had while he was talking to her, only glancing to the tall black women with dreads in relief whenever she interuptted him. He also hated the envy that spiked in his chest to realize that was her other partner. Soul recalled seeing both of them whenever Kid had been named Lord Death several years ago. She wore that stupid purple dress, dancing with that woman until she had realized Soul was watching them. He loathed how much of a reaction she could pull from him without ever knowledging him, then and now.

Soul forcefully pulled himself from his thoughts, realizing his food was getting cold rapidly. Shoveling his food back, Blackstar fell into the seat beside him.

"So drinks tonight?"

Soul laughed. "Most definitely."

Before long, the night came to a close and Soul finished exchanging information with the Witches Alliance on Kid's behalf. Stacks of papers were dropped off and he was on his way to meet with Blackstar and Tsubaki. They sat at the bar, looking like every other couple laughing and flirting as if they just got together. The couple was four years strong at this point, Blackstar even mentioning marriage in the near future. He tried not to be bitter but what particularly hard in light of recent events involving his and Jessah break up and having some old feelings resurfacing over a certain meister. The whole idea of love life was nonexistent to him. Even Kid seemed to have a special witch in interest.

"Hey Soul," Tsubaki smiled, liquor blushing her cheeks.

"Hi."

"C'mon man don't be so down, who cares? Lots of women would die for the chance with Lord Death's personal Death Scythe,"

Blackstar slurred, trying to cheer him up but doing the exact opposite.

Soul tried not to let it get it him but he was annoyed, frustrated and generally ready to return to Death City even though it was their first day here. Soul waved over the bartender, ordering his usual tall beer and a shot of whiskey. _Maybe after a couple of these my mood will get better. _

Soul wasn't too far off either. The drinks did make him light on his toes, until he was shoulder checked by a tall muscular dyke with thick dreads in the hallway of the hotel.

"Watch where you're going," Soul glared. Angelica, or whatever her name was, seemed to be waiting on his word. She flipped around so fast even his heightened vision had a difficult time keeping up. Suddenly the woman was close enough to smell.

"Listen here, you pull another stunt like that to try embarrass Maka… I _will_ hurt you. I will air this bitch out. Got it?" She gave him no chance to respond, instead she turned on her heel and walked away briskly. Soul's vision was clouded with anger at this point, it took everything inside of him not to follow her and give her a piece of his mind. It was obviously she did not know the story, who the fuck knows what Maka has told her what happened. Any person with eyes could see this was not work related, the woman's dark eyes burned too bright for it not to be personal. It calmed him to know this girl had no idea what Maka was capable of, a dark bitter part of himself eagerly awaited the day Maka would toss her aside whenever she was done, leave her answerless and forgotten.


	7. Chapter 7

"Glad to see you have decided to join us."

Maka grunted in response, stalking into his over sized office. She had sensed Spirit's soul long before she walked in. Instead of taking a seat, she went straight to a tray filled with crystal glasses and dark liquors in large crystal canteens. She poured herself a drink, feeling the disapproval within both of them. She didn't turn around as she spoke.

"If someone so much as mentions my drink, I will leave. Quit, resign, whatever the fuck you want to call it."

She used tongs to put two pieces of shaped ice before sitting in the other chair next to her father.

"Alright I am here, what needs to be said?"

Kid ignored her tone. "Where is Soul?"

Maka shrugged, spilling the cold yet so warm liquid. "Beats me, probably dropping off more mail for you."

Spirit spoke first. "Soul already knows, we can run over the information with him if something changes."

Lord Death nodded, taking a seat behind his desk. The air was buzzing with all sorts of mixed emotions.

"Since you seem pressed to leave, we'll keep this short and sweet. There is a breach, a mole somewhere."

Maka was all ears now, annoyances pushed aside for the time being.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, this group already knows the investigation has been centralized and more efforts are being placed into finding them. Someone here, someone within these grounds is a mole and is very quickly relaying information to their bosses."

Maka felt all reminisce of anger leave her bones with all this information attempting to be processed.

"How do you know?"

Spirit pulled a letter from his jacket and handed it to her wordlessly. Maka opened the thick, starchy paper. The ink was pristine and elegant.

_At last, things begin to get exciting. We are warmed to hear just how important we have become to the DWMA and Witches Alliance, truly. However, we are still slightly insulted that we only seem to be important enough for fifty case workers. That seems like an awfully small amount of attention to the group that will destroy the Court, Death City and all its inhabitants. Consider this a warning, we have every intention of mass destruction. We look forward to the delightful game of cat and mouse that has just begun. _

_Yours truly,_

_The Alter_

Maka finished reading the message and handed it back to Spirit.

"Whatever that is, it is not the real deal. Someone is faking."

They looked at each other with deep confusion. "What do you mean? This enough evidence to declare full out war against the Alter."

Maka shook her head, sure of herself. "The Alter is a nickname, they have never once self identified with that name nor do I believe they have intentions to. Also it's handwritten, if they have a mole they also know that all residing residence and members of DWMA and Witches Alliance are required to have their handwriting recorded."

"I just find it hard to believe this group has very carefully stayed hidden from the limelight for years, possibly decades. Whatever the Alter is, I know that they are the puppeteers of this show and someone is weaponizing the anonymity. The Alter would never so carelessly play their cards. Yes I am sure they have a mole, positive actually, but this person isn't it. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised it there was several. Now to state the mole influenced this person would far more believable. This letter is a diversion, a means of distraction. My guess is that we are suppose to stay preoccupied pinpointing this "mole" while the actual mole is benefiting from the mass confusion," Maka sipped her drink casually. Both of them looked dumbfounded, like a toddler that figured out how to push the correctly shaped blocks into the allotted space.

"At least this made my time worthwhile," Maka muttered, finishing off her sixth drink of the night… maybe seventh. She could feel the heat in her veins and she wanted nothing more than to leave and maybe float in her bathtub for the remainder of her night.

"So what do you think we should do? Ignore it?"

"I mean that would certainly piss them off but no."

Spirit seemed thoughtful as he spoke. "If what you say is correct then ignoring it would be our best course of action and to intensely monitor the grounds."

"Or we can capitalize on this. If we ignore it, we are basically letting them know that we know."

Lord Death was now holding the card. "And why exactly wouldn't we want them to know that we are aware it's a fake stunt?"

Maka leaned in, lips loose with alcohol. "We lose an element of surprise. Let them underestimate us, we treat this fake mole as the real deal and make the hunt for this person public."

"I'm not getting it because you just said-"

"Let me finish," Maka interjected her father. _Why did men always interrupt? _"So we play into the trap… somewhat. Make this letter public, during this time most will be in a frenzy and then real mole will come out to play. We can also capitalize off the mass confusion too, we'll have a small team assessing and searching for the real mole while a larger, more public team leads a public investigation on finding the fake. Double agent, ya know?"

Both of the men seemed impressed.

"Also we cannot allow any information leaks. No tangible evidence of this conversation or any relating information about the real mole. No emails, no reports, no calls, no texts, nothing they can tap, record, or keep. In fact, I would personally like to be tasked with finding them, with Andrea and Mason. No one else can know, no one. The less ears that hear this, the more likely it will be successful. Loose lips sink ships." Maka kicked herself a little for being so difficult, this conversation would not have been applicable over email and resulted in a very unnecessary screaming match with Soul. How embarrassing.

Lord Death nodded. "Okay, your request is approved under one condition." He didn't give Maka the chance to decline before informing her of his condition.

"Do not ever argue whenever you are summoned directly. Next time, you will be punished for your behavior."

Maka restrained the urge to roll her eyes, punishment be damned she could care less if she had her title renounced. In fact, with as messy as her life had gotten it seemed like a rather good idea.

"What type of punishment? You going to fire me?"

Lord Death, her previous classmate as well, grinned schemingly. "No, worse. I'll put you back at DWMA permanently behind a desk."

The color drained from her face, he had been right, desk work was far worse than being fired. In fact, she was sure she'd rather die.

"Aye, aye captain," she saluted sarcastically and both men narrowed their eyes at her.

"What happened to my daughter? I did not raise such a disrespectful young lady."

Maka turned to him, anger flaring for the thousandth time tonight.

"You're right, you didn't raise me at all," she snapped and continued without letting the words freeze the conversation. "If that's all, may I leave Your Highness?" Kid nodded without further words. She dramatically, and a bit drunkenly, swept into a low bow before finishing her drink and leaving it where she found it upon leaving the room.

Maka was so happy to be back home, even if it was just a tease before having the abandon her favorite place for majority of the week for months or until she can be in Kid's good graces enough to convince him she would be for competent in her own home.

The mole, the real one, had been weighing on her brain rather heavily. She told Mason about it once they had gotten back to Italy and was sure they were safe from prying eyes and ears. He agreed with her on the letter and her thoughts on security breaches. Days later, the uneasiness over the whole situation hadn't lifted or dimmed. The weight she felt in her stomach, a ball of mistrust and anxiety, seemed to grow heavier and heavier each time her mind pondered the mole and the letter. She knew she was right about the letter, she just knew with every fiber of her being that wasn't legit. But other thoughts came to mind, questions. Who was the fake? It was someone closely involved, obviously, but who could possibly be the real one? And what exactly did they have to gain by composing it? Was she right in saying the real mole had some sort of influencing hand on the fake one? Maka groaned, pushing her laptop away and she immersed herself further in thoughts.

Maka had requested all camera recordings of the past three months be sent to her along with files of every person in and out in the threes months along with all permanent residents ranging from janitors to official council members. It was a lot of information but she wanted it for future reference more than anything. In fact it had been so much information she was forced to buy a brand new flash drive entirely. She had spent the past week and a half pouring over cameras and mulling over residents. The more she considered who the real mole might be, the more likely it seemed it was a human worker such a cleaner or maintenance staff. Those positions are perfect for spies, discreet, easily attainable positions that readily gave access to most places with a solid cover. People who them saw but never registered their faces. Spies were unlikely to be in a position of power since their background and whereabouts are easily and likely monitored for safety reasons, most who were apart of the council had bodyguards and where recognizable which all would lead to problems if one of them were trying to spy. More thoughts crept in her head, if there were multiple spies like she suspected then it could be assumed they are aware of each other, share information among one another. It would be impractical for them to be unaware of each other. Maka felt as if she was only beginning to catch on to layers of this, as if it was a never ending web where everything connected to everything. Yet the threads were barely visible, only catching the light at the right angle.

Maka attempted to remember any of the workers, trying to recall faces she had seen make silent swept through the meeting rooms, refilling drinks or whispering messages sent to officials. Maka tried to remember if any of them had seen keenly interested but came up blank. It was foolish to consider that, even humans could be well seasoned spies. Her sneaking suspicion that there were multiple only added more complications, she wished it were simpler than this but her gut was rarely wrong on these matters. Frustration began to spread through her mind, her thoughts seemed to be in a circle and she found it hard to think outside that circle. She needed more information, she needed to know more. Maka wasn't sure what she needed to know but without more clues it was going to be hard to pinpoint. Once the fake mole was found, they could extract information from them. Emails had confirmed they were running the letter the lab to analyze the writing but it would take weeks possibly to cross it with everyone at the Court.

Maka had been right about the frenzy it all caused. She had stayed an extra day to share the grave news of the letter to the whole Court, her words even put on the intercom to be relayed to every set of ears. The idea of the Alter being right under everyone's noses placed an invisible pressure and paranoia on everyone. Naturally, everyone freaked out. The next weeks would be vastly important, in a sense Maka needed to be there and knew she ought to be but also she didn't want to be. Even if she was there, she would likely just be doing the same thing she was now.

Her apartment door opened and she jumped out her thoughts as she saw Mason come in. Andrea had flown from the Court to Houston, her hometown, to visit with family. Andrea went to see her mom very couple of months or so and usually came back after a week or so. Andrea left early in the morning without telling Maka, she had just left a note on the bedside table. It had been unexpected and annoyed her, she really needed Andrea right now. Given, she bitched Andy out over text but it did little to soothe her irritation.

"Hey, got some details for you," Mason said, sliding into the loveseat next to her. He handed her a thick manila folder, she flipped it open scanning over pictures of the latest dead allied witch. This one was horrific. The woman had been skinned, even her face. Maka shuddered at the sight, however there was no blood there the body laid.

"They dropped her in the middle of a street. Humans found her, it had been a bitch swindling that case away from the local police. I had to call Lady Athena's side bitch to take care of it." Maka laughed at Mason's nickname for Harold, Athena's advisor. They obviously did not like each other.

"Talking to Harold had been the real tragedy," Maka snickered, closing the folder. Everything about the latest murder put her on edge despite their joking.

"This is the first time they've made it so public," Maka noted.

"Purposefully, at that," Mason added.

"I wonder why they skinned her and then moved the body to the city. On top of that, Paris is far away to move a body considering all the previous were found in the Swiss Alps, somewhat close to the church in the middle of nowhere."

Mason nodded in agreement. "My thoughts are they are trying to change their MO or maybe they've moved."

Maka was at a loss, she had no idea what to think. All she knew was that the publicity of the stunt was to send a message, could it in response to the newly formed task force to hunt them? Was is another experimentation? If it was, what would be the point of moving the body to a human neighborhood? That place held no significance to the victim, the witch had been missing for weeks now and disappeared from her home in Spain. Thoughts were making Maka feel dizzy, she didn't know where to begin.

"Maybe they have multiple facilities," Maka thought aloud, Mason grunted in response unsure what to say himself. Maka found it hard to focus on one thought at a time, more thoughts bombarding her faster than she handle. She pushed herself off the couch, acutely aware of her stomach.

"Wanna have dinner with me?"

"Only if it's take out, I am not leaving. I'm also crashing here because I don't want to go across the city."

"Cool, I was going to cook actually. Curry?"

Mason's face lit up as he turned around quickly to give her funny look.

"Like you have to ask, you know I would whore myself for homemade curry."

Maka laughed, grabbing the ingredients. "Don't flatter me, you're a whore for fun."

Mason shrugged innocently, tongue in cheek. "I mean… yes but where's the fun in virginity?"

"Are you implying something?"

"Yes. You should have more sex, it's lots of fun."

Maka burst out in laughter, laugh echoing on wooden floors. "I will keep that in mind."

"I mean I bet you're a virgin again, been so long since you got some you'd have to clear out the cobwebs first." Maka laughed again, grateful for the banter to take her mind off the heavy, grueling thoughts that had plagued her.

"Probably," Maka admitted with a small shrug. It was true, she hadn't had sex in almost two years. It wasn't that she couldn't get it, she just didn't want it. Okay, maybe that was a reach but in her time of casual sex it broke her patience and dignity. Maka loved the sexual part of it, the kissing, oral, sex itself, most of time, but hated the lack of intimacy. Also STDs scared the shit out of her, so did the thought of pregnancy. In fact, she was certain she would rather fling herself from atop a six story building rather than be pregnant. The last time she had sex, they had used protection but the condom broke right at the end, of course. On top of it, she was tired of casual sex altogether. Most of the time she hadn't even orgasmed and looking back, it was beyond her why she even participated. Promptly after her last encounter, she waved off casual sex and opted for buying a couple of nice sex toys and found it to be far more beneficial.

"Toys are better anyways, they shut up and get the job done," she said, summarizing her thoughts. Mason snorted beside her.

"But they don't kiss you," he rebuttaled

Maka shrugged again. "Sure but at least they make me come." That had Mason laughing hysterically. She grinned over at him while chopping vegetables.

"Hey jerk, help me with dinner instead of just standing there."

Death City was bustling with the usual morning traffic as Soul rode through an intersection slowly on his bike, several ladies staring at him with wondering looks. He glanced over at them, beyond them to the dance studio down the street but forced his eyes back on the road, staring at the red light silently willing it to change. He was somewhat in a hurry, running ten minutes behind. It had done nothing to improve his already sour mood. Sleep was rarity for him these days, murders of allied witches and DWMA members happened more frequently than ever. Irritation had gotten the best of him whenever he had learned he was not involved in the investigation at all. He was the Death Scythe and should be involved in such serious matters. He had attempted to sway Lord Death on it but was denied, repeatedly, on bases that he wasn't willing to piss off Maka further. Just thinking about it got him heated, it was such a childish notion. People were dying and yet he couldn't help because Maka would get her panties in a twist over it.

Soul willed himself to think of something else considering he knew it was already going to an annoyance and irritation filled day as is. It had been three months last week since the Court and it was Maka's first day back in Death City and he was to be there to greet her along with others too.

He wondered idly what work would be like now, he wouldn't be sent on anymore out calls and he would be starting training with Maka. The idea sent shudders through him, Soul knew these next few months were going to rough to say at the very least. He barely knew Maka anymore and much to his distaste he realized how long it would probably take to be able to match wavelengths again even though both of them were vastly more skilled. He was also in charge of designing new city defenses, new evac routes, new passwords, the whole nine yards. Maka had spoken to Lord Death about her suspicion of multiple moles and suggested redoing all security measures frequently which would leave Soul busy in his downtime.

Soul arrived at the Death room late, Maka had already had her appearance. Her back was to him but she wore casual clothes for a change, he forced himself not gawk at the leggings and cropped tank top. Not to mention all the ink that covered her skin, her back piece partially visible to him now as he approached, it was a huge and incredibly detailed depiction of the devil. It long horns and sneering face could have been something out of a nightmare or legends. Her hair was so long, the longest he had ever seen it. It hung in two braids that trailed down her back and ended above her waist. Her baggage at her feet was expensive and very obviously name brand. In fact, Maka's style had changed from practical and comfortable to chic and pricey.

"Morning Soul," Lord Death greeted, Soul huffed his acknowledgements and came to stand next to Maka, who even gave a respectful nod. Liz, Patty and Spirit was also here waiting.

"Soul, you know what's expected of you already so I'll keep it short. Maka," Kid said turning his gaze to her.

"You and Soul will begin training under Spirit and Stein tomorrow, before that I want you to set up your office and apartment and begin sharing all information about the case you've collected and analyzed thus far. When will Mr. Peng and Ms. Calihart join you?"

Maka physically shuddered at the words training with Soul but she kept her annoyance in check.

"By the end of the week, Mason is to stay in Europe training and assisting teams and Andrea is collecting the latest body from Italy to bring it to the lab."

Lord Death nodded. "Good, I will allot you today to settle yourself."

Maka was happy for the dismissal, she gathered her black and gold bags aware of new eyes on her as they entered the Death Room. She knew who it was and she could feel their shock.

Turning around, she came face to face with BlackStar and Tsubaki for the first time in years. BlackStar's eyes were wide, mouth hanging open comically. Tsubaki didn't look much different than him, perhaps even more so. Maka didn't pause, she strode past them without a word, her phone began buzzing almost the same moment. Saved by the bell, she answered the phone without glancing at the collar ID.

"That was quick, thinking about me?" Andy mused over the phone. Maka grinned ear to ear as she made her way down the elevator.

"You know it… when's your arrival?"

Andrea sighed. "It's going to take a while. They are holding up the body for an Autopsy, I even played the religion card and they still won't release it." Sirens and car horns played in the background on Andrea's side, making envy ride in her chest. She hated how she was stuck her in this ugly, lifeless city. It was another body, this time of young meister from the DWMA. More eerily, his weapon partner had yet to be found.

"Fuck, I did not answer the phone to hear this," Maka complained.

"How am I going to survive alone? Every single person that has seen looks at me like a damn ghost. Or a Kishin."

Andy chuckled, clicking her tongue lowly.

"That's what happens when you are registered badass, the fame ain't for everyone darling," her voice drawled and she felt her cheeks flush at the ridiculousness of her comment.

"I guess it's just not the life for me, a simple rice farmer," Maka wooed dramatically, unable to stop the huge smile that broke out over her features.

"Okay I am about to walk into this place, let's see if I can get this shit moving," Andrea huffed, they hung up and Maka felt very lonely as she walked through Death City. The inner city was bustling, it was already hot. It was almost summer, not that the weather changed very much in the Nevada desert. Grudgingly, Maka realized it was a poor decision to walk to the apartments despite the short distance. She already missed Italy, it was artful and the weather always made the city glow. Summer brought lots of travelers, flowers and beach trips… Death City lacked all of those things. Although Maka did notice that maybe it didn't lack travelers, witches walked freely without soul protects and interacted with everyone openly. Still strange, it was a somewhat unspoken rule for witches to use their soul protect in most places. It provided to be safer but with thoughts of spies and double agents, it made her unnerved. She was sure there were spies here too, although not spoken aloud she was sure it was assumed by Lord Death as well. Everything made her jump, anxiety seeped in her bones and the being in Death City made her feel…vulnerable. Paranoia lingered in every part of her mind, feeling weary to even talk at times. Maka glanced behind her after every corner or turn to sure herself she wasn't being followed, expanding her soul perception still feeling the uneasiness of eyes boring on her back. Two of her runes buzzed with heat, her back piece that allows madness to exit her and the inside of her thigh that helped her expand her soul perception beyond to magic and spells. In fact, her whole body felt an electric spark but she could have passed that off as the fact she had renewed all her runes barely a day prior. Doing all six at the same time was physically grueling, almost like a very potent steroid shot. Maka felt drained, exhausted yet couldn't sleep or stop bouncing her leg while sitting.

She made it into the apartments quickly after picking up her pace motivated by the feeling of paranoia. The apartments were not the student dorms, that was for sure. Lobby boys took her bags and opened the door for her. She made a sweep of the grand lobby, she had never seen the inside of this building whenever growing up but she was impressed. It was nice, she smirked knowing she was probably been given such a nice listing because of her complaining and negotiations. It made her uneasy to see how many entrances there were however. The building was on a corner, creating multiple points of entry, three of them to be exact. She checked in and she stationed a suite on the fifth floor to her pleasure, not on the top or the bottom. She went up the elaborate elevator that even had a lift operator, how fancy. The man who had taken her bags stood next to her silently.

"Fifth floor please," she said with a polite smile. He was a middle aged man, balding brown hair and matching brown eyes.

"Yes ma'am," he nodded, he spoke with a thick accent… she was willing to bet he was from one of southern Slavic countries, Italy's eastern neighbors. Maybe Bosnia or Croatia.

"Do you speak Italian?" Maka asked, switching languages. He eyes got big and smiled brightly.

"It's rusty," he admitted, struggling to find the right words.

"What is your native tongue?" Maka wondered, most people in Death City were American's in nationality and did not speak a second language. She learned latin in school and enjoyed it, as well as utilized that whenever making Soul a Death Scythe. But still after leaving the Death City she was unaware of common it was for even humans to speak three or four languages with ease. It became a hobby for her, especially directly after leaving Death City. Currently, she spoke Italian, Russian, and French along with English. The more languages she could understand, the more opportunities to more information. She wanted to learn a new one and casually worked on understanding Spanish.

He spoke in a language that sounded similar to Russian, she understood key phrases.

"What about Russian?" She offered, as the elevator door opened to her level. The baggage boy was looking between them like watching a tennis game, confused.

"You're making me practice today," he laughed, switching to Russian. She chuckled in response as she stepped off the lift after her escort.

"Have a wonderful day sir," she waved at him, in Russian. He gave her a small nod before she made her way down the hall to the very end. The whole place had very nice interior decorating; it was a mix of dark colors, grey, black, crimson and accents of white. The suite's doors were red, assumingly since the rest of the doors were black. It felt somewhat like a marker, like an arrow pointing directly where she was. The lobby boy held her bags in hand and politely set them on the inside table, she slipped in a twenty as tip before closing and promptly locking it.

The suite did not disappoint, marble counter tops in a ghostly white color, dark wooden floors and silver chandelier hung over the entrance. The ceilings were pretty tall for a ten story building. She did not like that there was no carpet, who likes walking on cold floors first thing in the morning? _Guess you can't get everything. _She walked around, it was already furnished and it was okay. Not her style, she liked warm colors and furs, a big fireplace and candle light. Everything here was sleek, cool toned, and streamline. There was a nice balcony at least.

She began throwing her stuff into drawers and hanging up clothes. She would bring stuff she was sure she'd forgotten next week too. Maka didn't even really want to feel settled here, it was an apartment, sure, but for her was really just an excessive hotel. The likelihood of Maka keeping a stocked kitchen was slim to none. Once finished with unpacking, she made her way to the kitchen for the first time. It was huge, an island stretched across the middle with the same white marble as the bathrooms and inn tables. But a bottle of champagne sat in a black bucket, already chilled and with a note sat beside it. Curious, she reached forward and opened the unaddressed note. Expecting a greeting from the apartment building, or perhaps from Kid.

_Welcome back Maka Alburn._

It was typed. It held no signature, no name indicating who might have sent it. She checked the envelope again, searching for some sort of clues but found it blank. It was thick piece of cardstock, the edges held small swirls and keltic knots. Her heart was racing, her hands shaking as she shoved it away. Paranoia lurched inside her, her stomach twisting in knots similar to ones on the card.

"Can I catch a fucking break?"

Later that evening, Maka sat on the stiff black leather couch staring at the TV that wasn't turned on. Her mind as adrift, she felt so overwhelmed and unsafe. Not to mention just being there, in Death City sucked. The note and bottle just really set it all off, on her first day back she, of course, had to become aware that she was being watched. She had immediately poured the contents down the sink, saving a sample to be tested tomorrow. Uneasy did not describe the feelings that ran through her, absolute distress plagued her body. It felt hard to move at all, despite her growing hunger and soreness. She had sat there for hours, the sun was in the sky whenever she sat and now the moon had taken over the sky and left her new place dark. Begrudgingly, she unfolded her legs and blindly walked into the bedroom and fell on the bed and prayed for sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**TW/ suicidal thoughts and actions toward the end of the chapter. Continue at your own risk... also thank everyone for reading thus far even though none of y'all wanna review :):**

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Despite her dread going to practice, she was relieved to see that day had come. Even though it didn't release her paranoid, yet confirmed, thoughts and fears but the sunlight provided comfort. Sleep did not grace her last night, not true sleep because what sleep she did get it was filled with night terrors. Maka was up and out of bed before dawn, utilizing the elaborate bathroom. Soon enough, Maka was in appropriate clothing and heading to the nearest open coffee shop. It was now nearly eight in the morning, soy ice coffee and bagel in hand she was as prepared as she was going to get.

Naturally, Maka was there before Soul and Spirit. They arrived at almost the exact time but Maka and Stein were already immersed in conversation. Stein was examining the small glass dish that provided as a makeshift test tube. Soul walked in at the end of the conversation.

"I'll have it tested for poison, did you bring the note too? I can run any fingerprints or DNA if there is any."

Maka nodded, pulling a small blank envelope out of the pocket of her athletic shorts. Stein walked into a different room afterwards.

"What's going on?" Spirit asked, reflecting his own.

Maka looked at them, her long hair was pulled back haphazardly and her face dark with exhaustion.

"Got a secret admirer," Maka sighed. Soul was immediately on edge, a secret admirer that wants to kill her? _How romantic_ Soul thought bitterly.

"What! Who?" Spirit exclaimed.

Maka gave me a dumb look, almost making Soul laugh out loud.

"Could you ask questions that aren't stupid? I obviously don't know or I wouldn't be having tests run."

"What happened?" Soul asked, curious and wanting details. He was in charge of Death City security.

"Someone sent me a bottle of champagne and an anonymous note."

"What did the note say?"

Maka shuddered. "'Welcome back Maka Alburn.'"

"That's it?" Soul pressed and Maka nodded, too tired to be sassy.

Soul replied wordlessly, a quick nod before he turns around to empty his hands of his keys and phone. Stein came back and began talking with Spirit, leaving Soul and Maka to themselves for a moment. Swallowing her pride, Maka spoke first.

"Hey… I just wanted to apologize for being such a pain that night, it was unnecessary." It short, simple and to the point. Soul was taken aback by the words and the sincerity in her tone, he didn't have any good words to say.

"I..uh, yeah it's cool. It's okay," Soul fumbled. Maka sighed slightly, sipping iced coffee as she sunk to the ground and began stretching. Her legs had lots of ink too, he had only seen her once out of a suit and then it had been icy and all skin was covered by now he could really see the art that loitered her body.

"It's not cool but thanks for recognizing my apology," she said, glancing up at him briefly as she folded herself in half warming up her muscles. He followed suit with her wordlessly, stretching at a safe distance. The air was stiff, at least for him. Soul had no idea what was going through her brain, her face was down and close to the floor in deep concentration. Not looking up, Maka reached for her phone and music began playing. Music hadn't been something she's indulged in much whenever they were in school so needless to say, the fast paced trill rap that started playing surprised him. The lyrics were vulgar and catchy, talking about shooting guns and shaking ass. He had to laugh, too ironic. Maka peeked up at him, grinning too.

"Bet that's not what you expected," she chuckled, rapping along for a second.

"_Jealous ass trick tryna fuck up my feature, I get my revenge when I drop all my pictures I'm pretty like art bitch, I look like a fixture,_" she karaoked, impressively at that. She was still stretching but making loud hand gestures toward herself and just generally goofing off. Soul was laughing loudly now, she was getting it.

"_Keep that lil bitch from the fuck out my face 'fore I beat that bitch up with a fucking briefcase_," she kept at it, dancing a little, throwing hand guns and pumping her fist to the beat. At this point Soul was impressed, he had almost no clue what the female rapper was saying and Maka was spitting every word like she wrote it.

"Okay enough singing, this is practice so let get to it," Stein said breaking up Maka's performance.

"We'll try to go easy," Stein grinned a wide crazed smile and they began.

Practice was rough to say at the very least. Their good mood was soured quickly whenever things got difficult. Of course they couldn't match wavelengths; Soul had been electrocuted by her wavelength and apparently his weapon form's metal burned her hands so all is even, he mused. Most of the practice was spent meditating and focusing on their synchronization but the last half hour or so had been spent attempting to fight using the Death Scythes. They had briefly sparred with Stein and Spirit and went exactly as expected, terribly. Within the first five minutes, Soul had been flung from Maka's grip but it did give him a moment to see her fight by herself.

Watching Maka wield herself so effortlessly was beyond impressive. Also her hand to hand combat was otherworldly. Soul considered her skilled before she ever graduated but now, she truly was on another level of her own. Without wielding Soul she had been able to not only fight Stein and Spirit together but match their skills combined. Within seconds, she went from solely fighting with knees and elbows and then limbs switched to blades effortlessly. However, Stein was not here for that. He called her to a halt and scolded her for not utilizing Soul since that was the point of this training to begin with. Her complaints irritated him, for many reasons but none he was willing to ponder on.

Days passed with no disasters or anymore creepy unexplained gifts for Maka as far as he was concerned. The day had turned to evening now and he had walked from his apartment up to the smoke shop on the corner, lighting the fresh cigar as he walked. It was a nice day despite the heat, summer was in full effect but the sunsets were always the prettiest this time of year so he deemed it acceptable. His thoughts drifted back to the scene he walked into the first morning.

Within the first day of Maka arriving in Death City, she already had stalkers. Stalkers seemed incorrect, she was being spied on and watched. He found him consumed in thought of who was doing and how they should be dealt with. Before he knew what he was doing, Soul was calling over to Stein's lab. Stein didn't answer but his wife, Marie did.

"Hello?"

"Hey this is Soul, I need to talk to Stein," he informed her politely, she heard her calling for him and with a guff exchanging conversation, Stein was on the phone.

"Have the test been completed on the card and liquid Maka gave you this morning?"

"Yes, there was poison in the champagne although not a lethal dosage but I did not find as traces of DNA on the card aside from Maka's."

Soul gut dropped. "What! Poison?"

"Yes, green hellebore… you'll never guess where is originates," Stein did not give him the chance to guess. "Western Europe." Soul pressed further for details.

"That's it? A note and a bottle of champagne was already on her counter? Have you informed Lord Death?"

"Yes, but I just finished the testing so I will update him personally," Stein said, shuffling papers in the background.

"I'm going to go over and relay this to Lord Death and assess our next move, why don't you go talk to Maka? She doesn't know yet either and go ahead and pull the cameras from the hallways."

Soul huffed but agreed anyways. His mind was reeling, someone was already trying to kill Maka within her twenty four hours here. Soul knew somewhat of the investigation but was left out of details that did not pertain to him or Death City directly. What had she uncovered to be considered such a threat? Soul put his cigar out before he entered her lobby. Of course she stayed in the ritziest place available. Soul realized he had no idea which room or floor she was on. After a long, awkward conversation, Soul had to use his Death Scythe card to get them to tell him.

He was in the elevator, standing in long silence with an older man with a thick accent.

"Going to see Ms. Alburn?"

Soul looked at him, confused about how he knew and unsure whether to answer that or not.

"She's the only one of this floor currently," he explained himself, obvious to Soul guarded look. Soul nodded slowly.

"Yes."

"She's quite the girl, always speaks to me in Russian," he smiled as the black metal doors opened. That information was new to him but did not surprise him… too much. Maka seemed to be full of new things, almost an entirely different person to him.

"Don't work her too hard, Death Scythe," he smiled politely and the doors closed. That man's conversation about Maka irked him. He went down the hall to the floor suite, marked buy a more elaborate crimson door with nice iron work. He gave a tentative knock but wasn't able to pull his hand back from the wood before it opened. She did not look surprised to see him, in fact she looked like she was in the middle of something. Soul ignored the face of annoyance she wore.

"Hey, we need to talk."

Maka wordlessly stepped aside, allowing him in. Their relationship wasn't good per say but it was professional and civil… somewhat. He walked in and saw suitcases open on the couch, confusion ran through him. Wasn't she stationed here? Low, sultry R&B played through the house, sensual female voice echoing off the wood and marble.

"What's up?" Maka asked, continuing what she was doing. He glanced around, everything seemed normal. Two large case files sat stacked on top of each other on the marble kitchen counters, and of course a bottle of Gin and a crystal glass with olives floating in the clear liquid.

"Do not mention it," Maka said, grabbing the glass and bringing it to her lips.

"I know you like to judge me atop your sober high horse but please refrain. Especially whenever you smell like a walking cigarette."

Soul held back snarky remarks, sensing the defeat and exhaustion in her statement. He also knew she probably did not want him here so he got to the point.

"Tests came back, they spiked the bottle with green hellebore," short and sweet Soul kept it. Maka face didn't look… shocked exactly but instead many emotions passed over her before that legendary poker face covered all of it.

"I see," was all she said. Soul pressed more.

"Does that hold any… weight? Do you know anything about that particular poison?"

Maka nodded, eating the olives at the bottom of her glass.

"Some… it is used a lot for hexing in witchcraft. It helps madness fester." Soul's gut twisted at her words. So it was true, she was being targeted by the secret rogue witch society.

"I have already been instructed to go ahead with all security measures, I'll be reviewing cameras tonight."

Maka shrugged with a sigh, pouring another drink and adding a copious amount of olives. Maka glanced at him, nodded to the bottle.

"What a drink?"

He shook his head quickly, he had no desire to be drunk especially right now with all this information unnerving him.

"Your loss, this is the best Gin the planet has to offer I had to get Andrea to bring it back for me."

Andrea's name made his blood hot, he did not like her. He did not like how she was Maka's fucking lap dog and Maka acted like this woman could walk on damn water.

"Can you take this seriously Maka? Where are you even going? You aren't on any out calls while you lead this investigation? How can we monitor who comes to you whenever you aren't somewhere you can be watched?"

"My work week is over, I am going back home. I'll be back on Monday," she deadpanned, emotions blank and her eyes distracted with far off thoughts. He felt anger surge inside him, how could she brush this off so casually?

"You're going _back_ to Italy?! You have _orders_ to be here inside Death City!"

Maka raised a hand to him, ignoring him temporarily and swaying to the music and even singing it. Anger turned to rage, why is she being like this? Why does she insist on being difficult and careless about her safety?

"Listen Soul," she said, he could see the alcohol on her cheeks. "My life is a threat no matter where I go. Honestly, you can check those cameras all you want but you're not going to find anything. They wanted me to know I am being watched, they want me to act in fear and paranoia. Do you really think they'd be so careless to be caught on a _camera_?" Maka laughed, not genuinely but in a mocking manner. Soul was unsure what to feel now, his anger dimmed but his annoyance and frustration stayed.

"And," she continued. "Let's say they _let_ us see them on a camera… then what? We do what exactly? We have nothing on them still, no concrete evidence on who the moles might be or what their motives are and people are still being skewered apart alive. We don't even know if they would confront us, Soul, and if by some chance they did meet us face to face to duel it out… I am sure we would all be slaughtered." The defeat in her voice was irksome, it made his anger and irritation lessen.

"So what? We give up?"

A smile, small and weak found her lips as she took another sip and hoisting herself on the counter. Her long legs dangled as she kicked.

"We persevere."

He hated this, he hated seeing Maka like this. He would even prefer to see her pissed and yelling versus this hopeless attitude she wore right now.

"Maka could you stop? Seriously?"

Maka looked up, jolted by his demands. Admittedly, she felt stuck and the rut of mud she was sinking in seemed to get deeper and deeper the more she struggled.

"Can you get the fuck over yourself? I know you think you know everything but you don't; so stop talking like there isn't anymore to do."

His words stung but she knew he was right in a sense, she was weighing herself down but it was hard to shake the unbearable paranoia she had felt these days. Her runes were fresh but her paranoia wasn't helped, it filled her bones with lead these days and she was hopeless, so hopeless in finding another lead. Everything she had dived into felt like a dead end.

"Sure, Soul, let me just drop off this fucking baggage just like that," she snapped her fingers together, emphasizing her point. Anger tried to fill her bones but she was too tired to put forth energy to be upset.

"Okay thanks for the pep talk and the bad news, are you done? Do you need anything else, Death Scythe?" She sneered at him, shoulders still sagging in defeat. Soul took notice to the song as he watched her mumble along the words.

"'_Cause you get the best of me, yeah, bring out the worst. You make a bitch have to go in her purse,"_ the woman sang. Frustration filled him, he hated this Maka.

"No, I need to pull yourself together Maka. Everything happened aside, I don't know who you are but the Maka I knew was never one to give up."

Maka rolled her eyes. "The Maka you knew what stupid and naive enough to believe everything works out. It doesn't. Sometimes it just is what it is and we've got to accept the shittiness of it all with a grain of salt."

The words hit him like bullets, so did her voice. It was low and soft despite her tongue lashing directly prior. He wanted to grab her shoulders and shake her violently. His head hurt from everything she was making him think about. He hated how much he agreed with her words but for the sake of conversation, he didn't agree.

"Doesn't give an excuse to give up, gonna throw in the towel every time the going gets rough?" Soul knew she knew what he was alluding to. Anger wound her up like a toy, he could see it as she straightened her back, without turning toward him she jumped off the counter. She stalked past him, her long hair whipping around her. No words were said until she was at her door, opening it aggressively and he cringed whenever it slammed into the wall mercilessly.

"You sure do assume a lot now. Get. Out. Get out of my face before I bruise yours." Soul certainly hadn't expected that, he knew it was a sore spot for both of them and he wasn't exactly sure where he had hoped the question would get him. He was frozen by her gaze, it was like that night. Her eyes were icy, it became hard to breathe.

"I am tired of dealing with you. Every time you open your goddamn mouth and it has to be a dig, something to make me feel guilty about. I get I hurt you, sorry about that but get the fuck over it. My leaving had nothing to do with you, sorry you think it was about you. Leave that shit in the past, it's where it belongs."

Her words were beyond cruel. He felt as if all the air had been vacuumed out of his lungs. Not that he ever admit it aloud, but his romantic feelings toward her left him bitter and hurt beyond words. That hurt and mistrust had ultimately ended his engagement with Jessah, leaving him with more guilt to sift through than he felt capable of handling. Most of the time, he just ignored it. It was easier to pretend it never happened but it had been so hard having to see her face every morning this past week. Soul knew his comments to her were at times, most of the time, were snide and rude but it made him feel better. Soul knew that yet was unable to take the high horse on that note, he wanted Maka to feel the pain she'd left him to deal with. Would he admit to it? No. Was it true? Yes.

"Get the hell out of my house. You have no right to be here."

Wordlessly, he left.

Maka was gone and boarding a plane that night instead of the morning as she initially planned. After the conversation with Soul, she couldn't physically stand being in that forsaken city a moment longer. Now almost twelve hours later, she was finally back in her home. Her real home. It was empty to her dismay, she had expected Andrea to be here. Andrea had only been in Death City for two days, leaving her to fend for herself the rest of the week. Maka almost wished she could be in Japan with Andrea but being in her apartment made her feel a little better; she dropped her bags at the door and fell onto her bed and passed out.

Maka awoke midday, jet lag getting the best of her. She woke up to a silent apartment, Andrea still wasn't home but it didn't bother Maka this time. She had places to be, places to enjoy while she could. Tossing aside thoughts of her dead end cases, she prepared her beach bag. She was going to camp on the beach for the weekend. Maka shot Mason and Andy a text to join her there if they'd like but did not count on it.

Maka decided to take her car. She rarely used it within the city. She loved driving it, the car a beauty; it had been a gift to herself on her 21st birthday. A luxury white Audi, tan interior, and giant sunroof. She started it with the remote control, AC already on whenever she had stuff loaded. Her phone connected automatically, blaring her workout playlist. Now wasn't the time for rap, she wanted to feel like she was in a distance land. She played an audiobook as she drive north to a smaller beach town, Civitavecchia. The drive wasn't long, an hour and a half on a bad day, today the road was clear and the sky a vivid blue that contrasted with the coastal cliffs. It was one of her favorite drives in the entire world.

Her audiobook captured her mind in false fantasies of alter universes where she was human, fully human in the sense where she got to be apart of their society instead of always protecting it from the shadows. Growing up, she praised herself for not being born among the ignorant masses but now she longed for it. This life had taken its toll on her, the madness was real and active inside of her no matter how much she pretended like it didn't affect her. She wondered idly, what she'd do as a human that didn't slay demons before their reckonings. She played with the idea as she approached her spot. It was far enough in the country, a lonely province beach that only locals or fishermen used.

Maka has stumbled across the beauty shortly after she'd bought the car for herself. Just driving aimlessly and there it was, it had been empty as it was now and the sun setting, the sun sank over the horizon and she knew it was her favorite place known to man. Maka continued to come back here, indefinitely in times whenever she needed an escape or just alone time.

She made quick work setting up her personal tent, she forgotten fire wood but thankfully enough dried driftwood lay strewn across the sand dunes from the full moon's high tides. The moon, she realized, was a new one. She liked new moons, the stars were so bright out here whenever they weren't sharing the darkness.

She was set up and the fire, finally, was going before the sunset came. Maka packed herself a small dinner mostly of fruit like figs, bananas, apples and even two pomegranates she had found despite them being sorely out of season.

The waves soothed her as she sat in the surf, no sounds from other people, nor any human souls loitered the area when she checked. Maka loved it, even though she had invited her team she was now glad they hadn't come. The time alone, feeling truly alone, was refreshing. She didn't feel the weight of unseen eyes gazing on her, she didn't feel stuffy and vulnerable in a city she despises, her muscles and thoughts were truly at ease.

By the time the sun set, she was searching for more drift wood after using the rusty, unkempt outside shower. The water still smelled of salt but at least her hair felt lighter. Later while admiring the stars when a snake had given her scare after slithering other one her thighs. The scream she let loose was bloody and alarming, embarrassed she double checked using soul perception that no one was near.

To her surprise, she did feel something. Not a soul per say but magic. She felt magic near her, concentrating, she expanded her perception's prowess. Her gut dropped, twisted and flipped inside her as the sweetly forgotten paranoia found her again. Her heart hammered in her chest, making her dizzy as she urged herself not to freak out then and there. Shaking, she thought of plan of action.

She was being watched. She knew it. Whoever it was, found her one place in the world that felt safe. Beyond her absolute panic and fear, she felt rage. Maka wanted to grab that person by the throat and watch them bleed out, watch as their body crumpled. The bloodlust she felt rose along with her fight or flight instincts battled.

The flight, paranoia, won. She slowly began to stand, trying not to seem too concerned. If they were watching her, she wanted to move as slowly as possible as not to alert them. Hopelessly, she wondered if they knew she could sense them. Maka wondered how they knew about her, did they know she could feel magic? Maybe not skilled enough to see soul's through magic soul protects but she sense the cocoon of magic they hid inside. Maka focused on her breathing as she dusted all the sand off. Maka was at an extreme disadvantage, she was alone and vulnerable and to top it off; she wasn't sure how much they knew about her and her abilities. Maka felt them draw closer to her, she was sure she could fight but the likelihood of defeating a witch was half at best. However, Maka knew that if conflict came about she could have Andrea reverse summon her or escape on her own means. It was a situation that she would prefer to avoid, fighting a witch required preparation. She had weapons but not ones she needed and it had been a long time since she had fought solo. Maka cursed herself for not keeping herself sharp. Her brain taunted her with Soul's warnings. She would never hear the end of this.

"Okay maybe not all night," Maka said to herself not too loud, trying to calm herself with her own words. She also tried to… fool them into believing this snake scared her into packing up for the night. Long shot since it already very obviously appeared she'd be staying here for the night. An idea came to her brain, she tried not to dash for her phone. Maka went to text Andrea or Mason but something told her no. It was late here in Italy, almost two in the morning. Mason was in Russia so it was even later for him, she knew he was asleep. Andrea was in Japan to meet with Lady Athena for updates, seven hours ahead made it nine in the morning… prime meeting hours. She bit her lip, she wanted someone to calm her, make it seem as if she needed to come back urgently despite being on her days off. However… it was five pm in Death City. She had Lord Death office phone, Stein's laboratory and Soul cell phone.

Maka hesitated, remembering how bad the last conversation went with Soul. He was still on his high horse but Maka has made some deep digs.

Pushing all that aside whenever she felt the eyes of the unseen peer into her. Maka wasn't sure how long they had been there but she knew she had been alone at first. They were looking for her, trailing her from a safe distance at first perhaps but they definitely were watching with intent. The feeling was sickening, far more than the mess with Soul did.

Her hands texted him rapidly. She used an old code of theirs, a discrete message they had established back in school whenever they had been soldiers fighting against Archne's henchmen to tell each other they were in danger, at least that's what it had started as but turned into a sort of call for help of any sort, whether it be social situations or life and death. She hated that she had to use it and she prayed to god he knew what she meant.

_I left the stove on. Call me to come back._

With shaking hands, she sent it. She tried to casually place the phone down but she found herself staring at it. Minutes passed and nothing came of it. She felt dread on her chest, she just wanted to leave everything and drive as fast and as far as she could. She tried to lay back on her pallet casually but her whole body seemed to quiver. She was so unnerved, her perception still highly away from that blurb of magic hovering from her a couple of paces to her right.

Her runes buzzed, Maka was only aware of it as she began to slow her breathing. Maka got caught up in her relaxation and hadn't even paid attention to her body. The rune that assisted her soul perception into magic perception buzzed hotly on her inner thigh. It had been a very painful rune due to placement but was necessary. Andrea had informed her a lot of runes lose their power if they are cut or marred. It disrupts the flow of magic inside it, not that it made such sense to Maka but she went with it. Inside of the thigh was one of the harder places to cut up in battle, not to mention deadly. It buzzed whenever she was aware of magic similarly how her back rune was hot whenever madness leaked through it. She cursed herself again and again for not being on guard, for not expecting the worse.

She nearly died whenever her phone began ringing, her heart managing to beat even faster as she snatched it from beside her.

"Hello?" She answered breathlessly, placing the phone speaker next to her.

"Maka! What do you think you're doing? You have been restationed in Death City _permanently_, meaning everyday. Explain to me why you're in Italy? Lord Death has let me know that if you are not return immediately you'll be escorted by none other than me."

Maka found it hard to pretend to be upset.

"That was not apart of the deal!"

"Yes, it was. You have two hours to be on a plane or I'll be on one to collect you," he seethed. Maka had to give to him, his anger did not seem fake. In fact, she was sure it wasn't considered their last conversation. She mumbled apologies and agreed to come back. Hanging up the phone, she was packing her things up at lightning speeds not bothering to correctly fold things. Her senses stayed focused on the magic near her, Maka felt it drifting away from her. She wasn't sure to be relieved or concerned, her panic of the whole situation still made her shake. Maka hated the idea of being alone with this other person, she felt vulnerable and as if her life was in danger.

Before daylight broke, she was on a plane. Maka ignored the texts Soul sent, demanding to know what was going on. She only told him she would arrive in Las Vegas soon, refusing to tell him details until she had 1.) calmed down and 2.) knew what to say. Truthfully she did not want to admit to being wrong, to tell Soul he had been right even though she knew he hadn't said the words directly. Maka wondered who had the eyes watching her in Death City. She knew the sensing magic near her should have sent her into a frenzy like it had but the panic she felt was impossible to ignore. Maka had been incapable being calm then and even now, she shook at the memories of the once empty beach. A snake, nonetheless, had caused her to become aware of it all. Too many details ran through her brain, causing it to pound with the effort.

The flight went by quicker than she imagined it would despite her lack of sleep. Maka hadn't gone back to her apartment after that she drove straight to the airport, booking the flight on her phone. She carried her backpack she had at the beach and her weapons purse, charmed by Andrea to appear normal. The purse had been one of the many gifts Maka had received from her, Maka's fingers traced the embroidered multicolored Gucci logo snake. Soon enough, she back in the miserable desert of Nevada. Maka hadn't had time to arrange a flight directly to Death City's taxiway so she landed in Las Vegas. Her magic perception identified multiple witches and soul protects near her which was unsurprising in such a vast city but made her gut churn regardless.

She was about to flag down a taxi whenever she sensed Soul near her, causing her flip around. He was on his motorcycle at the corner, barely visible to her eyes. Ignoring the feelings of despair at seeing him so soon and while she was still sick physically with paranoia, she stalked his way.

"What the fuck Maka?"

She sighed and shook her head. "Not here, not right now. Let's go." Maka without another word flung her leg over the motorcycle and waited on him. He glanced around, running a hand through his white silver hair frustratedly but followed suite. Silently, they took off out of the city. Maka was so focused on concentrating on her magic perception and whether or not they were being trailed she hardly noticed as he came to a stop halfway there.

"What are you doing?" Maka asked as she glanced around the dark desert.

Soul grunted as he angrily jammed his kickstand down and got off the vehicle. With his arms crossed, he stared at his with eyes of molten lava.

"Fucking explain yourself. I did not just do all of that, come and wait at the fucking airport for the half the night and drive you back to Death City after I had already fucking warned you that you were in danger by leaving."

Maka bit her lip, not wanting to talk. Long moments of silence was the only thing exchanged until Soul growled and yanked her from her seated position.

"Oh okay? Don't want to talk about it? Cool, let fucking fight about it then."

Maka was shocked, even more so when she realized he was not joking. Soul barely gave her an opportunity to prepare herself before he flung himself at her violently. Maka ducked under his swing with easy, stepping around his long body. She watched his soul, he was _pissed_ but there was far more to it. Frustration swirled in deep hues with his anger but the overall an underlying, greyish color tinged his arua. He was hurt, miserable even. For a moment, she even allowed herself to look deeper into his soul and faintly heard the deep sounds of piano playing directly in her chest. Maka gaped at it and nearly got knocked out by a flying knee. She hadn't been able to fully dodge it but she blocked it when her forearms, feet losing traction on the gravel beneath them.

Her own anger welled inside of her chest. His acted like she meant to be like this, acted as if she to be meant in this no win situation. Crying out, she finally lashed back at him from the ground. Maka had slipped and twisted on the ground as he tried to pin her. Nailing him in the shoulder with her elbow, she rolled out from under him. Both on their feet, she took the offensive with a swing of her left arm but successfully faked him out and brought her right leg up instead, hitting him in the same shoulder with the bottom of her foot. It was his turn to fly back, he stumbled over his own feet with great force, sending his paces away.

"Is that all you got? I figured you'd be better six years later."

Maka pounced on him, arm transforming into a blade. A blade erupted through his chest to counter her strike, a toothless grin appeared on his face. He yanked the arm not in scythe form and catapulted her. Her back hit the ground, knocking the breath out of her. She forced herself to get up, feeling him approaching her rapidly. Soul was close now, the blade retracted from his chest. Dancing away from his swings, she had to admit he was much better at hand to hand combat than she last recalled. In fact, it pissed her off how he could easily counter her physical attacks.

Baring her teeth, she snarled at him.

"You've been waiting for this haven't you?"

Soul managed a small laugh as he bobbed and weaved through her assaults. Maka pressed forward with more speed, determined to strike him.

"It's like you knew."

Maka felt everything melt away, only her heartbeat and anger existed as she lunged for him. Her blood raced in her ears as her fist made connection with his jaw, whipping his head to the side. Maka did not give up her advantage, she kept her momentum and surged toward him. Soul blocked the elbow and fist flying at him but sorely missed her leg sweeping at his feet. The gravel did not give him the chance to catch himself, Soul plummeted to the ground. Before he could scramble to his feet, Maka's foot slammed into his chest. Pinned to the ground with the weight of her body, she lowered herself closer to him. Blood lust made her mouth water, his face was already beginning to bruise. Her eyes narrowed as she smiled, hair hanging around like a mane. Like the mane of a lion, a lion hunting its prey.

"Are you finished?" Soul gaped, he was a liar if he said her face didn't terrify him.

A dry, bloody smile stretched over her face. He hadn't noticed the split lip until now, it made her seem like a villain ready for the final blow. Her eyes were cold but hot with blood lust.

"No, you're finished," she responded icily.

"Are you going to kill me?"

Maka's eyes went wide, shock taking over her features. Killing Soul had never been a thought but beating him to a pulp and leaving him to walk the rest of the way to Death City, sure. Murdering him? She stood, suddenly shaky. Backing away from him, Maka's swollen lip trembled.

"You… thought…. Think I would kill you?"

Soul lifted up, flinching and putting a hand over his chest. There were no words, Soul mind was reeling. His emotions were all over the place.

"I don't know," he admitted. It was the truth, the Maka he had seen wasn't compassionate or really caring of anything besides herself and her two companions. Lord Death had even mentioned this first, his concern for her lack of humanity that she once held so close to her heart.

Maka was still staring at him but slowly backing away. Maka just wanted to leave, the hurt was blaring. Although the release from her anger was nice, she would not have preferred it to this. Her blood lust was real… but killing Soul? After he had...helped her? Did he really think that lowly of her? As a human? Wide eyed, she turned away from Soul. All she could think about was distance. Everyone had really given up on her, they held so little faith in her. No faith in her to do better, no trust to be good. No wonder they wanted her in Death City. They were just waiting for the moment she went off the deep end, it was why no one else stayed on her floor. It was the reason her team was split up, the reason she wasn't supposed to leave their watchful eyes. Maka's eyes filled with tears, mouth open as she struggled with her words.

"I… I have to-" she didn't finish, she just took off running. Maka ran as fast as she could in no particular directions. She really was better off alone, no one trusted her. They feared her, they expected her to do the worst, they probably expected her to jump head first into the deep end and become the next Asura. No wonder the previous Lord Death offered her up for experimentation. She really _was_ a lost cause. Maka heard Soul yelling after her but she quickly ran off the road as she heard the motorcycle engine start up.

"Fuck," Soul yelled at himself, watching Maka run cross country in the barren desert.

"Why the fuck did I say that?" Soul muttered at him, he had blurted it with intentions of her hurting her. Guilt hit him harder than her fists did whenever he saw those big, green eyes filled with tears. The hurt, for once, apparent on her face. Pain, resentment played deep on her features right before she had began sprinting away. Soul drove down the road, not caring as he speed off road. It was so dark but thankfully the starlight provided enough light to be able to track her moving figure. Maka could have been a professional track runner as she dodged and weaved, zig zagging trying to lose him in the night. He idly wondered what she would do if she did manage to get him off her trail. It was summer, although the night was chilly, the morning sun would bring unbearable heat. Not to mention they were miles away from anything, Soul knew that running had been her instinct taking off. The deja vu he felt made his chest ache.

Maka could still hear him behind her, although she felt as if she was making progress on losing him. It was dark and she could take advantage of that. She went to change her path again, but found a brush of prickly cactus in her path. Maka was running too fast and was not able to skip around it. Her foot tangled in the short bush of spikes, also making her fall directly on to it. Maka could not contain the blood curdling scream that spilled from her lungs. Pain erupted throughout her body, she had no time to break or brace for the fall, her chest and middle made direct contact with the damned plant, her entire weight pressing into it. She managed to shield her face before she lost an eyeball or two. Maka wheezed and prepared herself to roll off the forsaken plant. The engine found her as she lay on her back, tears streaming down her face and she tried to scoot away from the approaching man.

"Don't come near me or I'll kill you," she wheezed through heavy breaths. Between the hits she'd taken from Soul and blinding pain of falling, she willed herself not vomit or pass out.

"Shut up, I should _not _have fucking said that."

As Soul came closer, he tried not to gape at the blood. It took him little time to piece together what happened, she had tripped and fell directly on a short but large bush of cactus. Maka had managed to roll off the spiked but now lay on her back awkwardly next to the bush, blood soaking into the dry ground around her. Collapsing next to her, he had no idea what to do.

"You meant it," she croaked, trying to move away from him.

Soul tried to grip her but poked himself with thorns. Maka cried out in pain whenever he did it, making the guilt physically unbearable.

"I meant to hurt you," Soul groveled. He could not help the tears gathering in his eyes, Soul was so ashamed of his actions, his lack of control and the situation he had gotten them into. He beyond furious with himself, looking back she had trusted him with whatever had freaked her out in Italy. So much so, it sent badass Maka running back to Death City.

"I am so-"

"Shut up," She sneered before he could get the words out. Gritting her teeth she waved her hand, a dismissal gesture.

"Just fucking leave me, I want to die and everyone else does too. Return back a fucking hero that eliminated the up and coming villain," she huffed through pained breaths. The spikes were long and deeply embedded inside the soft tissue of her abdomen. Maka could feel her rune pulsating on her stomach, the ink had been marred. Not that it mattered to her right now, it's not like she'd need its protection anymore. Maka thought about the release of death, how it would solve all of her problems. She hoped reincarnation wasn't a real thing, she hoped the afterlife just consisted of unmemorable black abyss she could float in for eternity. To be nothing, to remember nothing, to be overcome with nothingness was everything she could possibly hope for. Maka was tired of being subjected to the pain that came with just existing. The tears that fell from her face wasn't from the pain anymore, they were with hope for nothing.

"Maka please, I was wrong so so fucking _wrong_. I am just miserable and I could not stand seeing you somewhat happy. I suffered from your loss, nothing felt worth it. Jessah loved me and all I saw was hurt left after _you_. I hated that you and I've let it blind me. I am so stupid."

Maka was still crying, not really caring for the words that came from his mouth. She found no comfort in his explanation. Instead, she saw selfishness. Soul was here again making everything about himself. Even in an apology, he said words to comfort and excuse himself later. Maka understood to an extent, she did with herself to excuse her violent killing. In a deep part of her, however, it was everything she wanted to hear. She wanted Soul to grovel to her, to hold her hand and beg for another chance. That was her own selfishness, so she supposed their own desires, their own greediness cancelled each others out.

"I just want to die." Was all she said, it was the only true thing she felt if she was being honest.

"Just finish me off. Or leave me, I'm sure I'll be gone soon if you just left the vultures to pick at me. It'll save you the guilt," she offered. Soul's face paled and his stomach dropped.

"I am ready for peace," she continued, face contorting in a different kind of pain. A pain that she distracted herself from in day to day life. But right now that pain overcame everything she felt physically. Soul grabbed the sides of her face, one of the few safe places to grip.

"It's not that easy, Maka. You don't get a free pass."

"WHY NOT?" Maka yelled despite their close quarters.

"How much more so I have to suffer! What is wrong with wanting to escape from the ugly life! What do I have to do to be _worthy_ of peace!" Maka continued, screaming despite the gruffness of her voice. Maka began to sob uncontrollably.

"I hate you! You're going to make me to continue! You're going to call for help and I am going to wake up in the infirmary and I am going to have to continue this fucking investigation. JUST LET ME FUCKING DIE! They're going to kill me anyways!" Maka wailed, her body shaking from the force of her cries. Blood poured from her body fast, even more so as she shook from the force of her emotions, her head becoming light and dizzy. Maka prayed to whatever the hell dared to listen that her end drew near. She begged the universe to show her mercy, to release her of her burdens.

Soul was frozen and conflicted. He knew he was not going to let her die, not now. Not never, if he had a say so. He felt so foolish. Maka was hurting, hurting a lot more than him. He had just been too stubborn, anger and bitter to put that aside. Soul had made it a point to make her an enemy. Let her anger at the world confuse him into believing it was hatred for him. He saw it all now, crystal clear now. She had protected herself with a rough exterior not because she wanted to but because she had too. Maka refused to drag anyone down with her and her method of protecting others had been to push them as far away as possible. He saw that now, Soul had seen that for a while now but refused to acknowledge it and the hatred for himself swelled.

Wordlessly, as she cried he began picking out the thorns. She flinched at each pull and tug, his heart broke over and over as she begged him to leave her.

"Please. Just let me rot, tell them I went off the deep and tried to kill you. They won't think twice. I am just a lab rat to be discarded after the experiment is complete. Everyone already thinks I am the next Kishin, I'll be better as plant food." Maka grabbed his wrists with shaking hands. She tried peered into his face, the starlight washing her already pale skin in a cool light.

"Have _mercy _on me."

"Call me selfish Maka but I am not leaving you. I already left you once. I will not do it again. I should've went after you when you left. I failed you, I left you deal with it alone."

Maka began to sob again, her sobs turned to screams and she began thrashing wildly trying to get him away from her. She screamed obscenities at him, detailed how much she hated him and how she refused to forgive him. He didn't care, she could hate him all she wanted. Maka was not dying and that was the end of it. Blood gushed from the deep pricks all over her body, without notice her scream fell off. Startled yet relieved, Soul realized she had passed out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Dedicated to the very lovely Pitanguinha for inspiring me to get my butt in gear... thank you everyone else for reading even though y'all haven't left a single review .**

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Soul managed to get into Death City with Maka leaned against his chest. She was breathing but he felt as if he wasn't. Soul swallowed his pride as he carried Maka into familiar apartment, one he knew too well.

"Set her on the couch, I pulled out the bed already," Jessah muttered as Soul came into through the door.

"Thank you for doing this, I knew she…" he trailed off not wanting to compromise her privacy. Jessah sighed loudly, raking a hand through her hand.

"Yeah, you owe me. You're lucky I don't report this," Jessah sighed, getting to work assessing her wounds.

Hours later whenever the early morning sun peaking in the east, Jessah finally told Soul she was done dressing her wounds.

"What even happened? Was it as a member of the Alter? A Kishin egg?" Jessah questioned.

"Not sure," Soul muttered not wanting to deceive Maka's moment, to expose her broken moments to a stranger. Jessah huffed frustratedly. He knew it was unlikely she believed his story, they had been together for three years. Jessah, to an extent, knew what their breakup had been about and bringing Maka here in the early morning hours with puncture wounds only solidified her accusations. Maka had not been around whenever he abruptly ended things six months before the wedding but Jessah was not a fool by any means nor was she easily fooled now.

"You have always been a terrible liar, now is no difference," Jessah said, voice wavering as she took in the sight of Soul holding a passed out meister.

"I… I hope everything turns out how you wanted it but I am sure it won't," she said, eyes full of tears, Jessah's gaze trailed to Maka. His heart ached watching her struggle for the words. Soul had hurt her like Maka hurt him, he could see it clearly now even though he pretended it did not happen. In that moment, Soul welcomed the pain. He deserved it.

"I'm sorry Jessah, for everything. I hope you'll find condolence in the fact I am sure you'll be right," Soul said looking down at Maka too, who was now wearing Jessah's clothes and bandaged tightly to help the bruised ribs and deep slashes adorning her middle section and chest. Jessah looked him, brown eyes shining bright with emotions.

"I find no comfort in your hurt, despite everything that has happened… I always knew your heart was never mine… I just lied to myself. I wanted it to be mine, desperately. Don't make the same mistake as me," her voice quivered but she turned away before the tears overflowed from her pretty eyes. Soul found it hard to thank her for her help as he left. Jessah's eyes never met his as she escorted them out.

Soul was thankful that Jessah was a certified nurse, thankful she had given her medicine that knocked her out. He was unable to think about the scene that might have unfolded if Maka had woken up. He had managed to locate her keys, brought her into her room without signaling too much attention, the curious lift operator had just begun his shift as Soul struggled with Maka's sleeping form and her backpack and grateful for his help this time. His watchful gaze helped him down the hall, carrying Maka's other bag that had been strapped to his bike. The man did not ask questions but Soul offered an excuse before he became overly curious.

"She can drink like a man," Soul said awkwardly as they walked down the hall.

"So it seems," he said, going along with whatever the Death Scythe said.

Once they were inside her apartment, he carried her into the bedroom. Soul laid her down, once positioned and covered her. Before he knew it, he was sitting on her couch and then he was sleeping there as the sun rose into the sky.

Maka awoke in pain, not unbearable but it was definitely there. Groaning, she sat up. There was a moment, a moment where she did not remember what had happened previously. The memories swarmed her brain, sucking the breath from her chest. Maka fell back into the bed, recognizing her bedroom in Death City. The last thing she remembered was screaming at Soul, begging him to leave her to die. She felt a deep embarrassment but also curiosity as to why she wasn't in the infirmary. The sun was setting in the west telling her she had been out for at least twelve hours. Soul had taken her home and from peeking under the covers… he had taken her to someone. She wore feminine pajamas, ace bandages wrapped around her chest and middle. Her legs were rough from the prickly spikes that had impaled her but not too serious. A thick salve had been spread on her legs, it's sticky residue still on her skin and stained the ivory sheets. As she stirred, she felt the deep complaining of her ribs.

Groaning, she flung her legs over the edge. She needed water. Stumbling, she walked down the hall gripping the walls. Her head was light and spinning with every step. Her ribs were so sore, her chest tender to the touch, legs complaining with every moment. Maka's head throbbed and she was grateful for the dark curtains keeping the late afternoon light to a minimum.

It wasn't until she was walking back to her room whenever she saw Soul, he was passed out on her couch. His understair was a white tank top, his hair was wet and fragrant. She could tell he had showered, regular button up shirt laying on top of discarded shoes by the door. Soul wasn't exactly sitting up but he wasn't lying down either, slumped over a propped up elbow, breaths almost blending into the silence of her flat. Maka almost wanted to thank him, instead she got a blanket from the hallway and covered him lightly.

As she covered him, she saw the damage she had inflicted on his face. His jaw was severely bruised, top lip busted and a huge bruise wrapping around his left shoulder. She vaguely remembered the serious of hits she had concentrated on that part of his body. She sucked in her bottom lip, biting into it without thinking about her own split lip. Cursing to herself, blood filled her mouth.

Soft murmuring R&B voices awoke Soul. The evening light steamed into through the kitchen windows behind him. He was surprised to find himself covered and laying on a pillow. Also the smell of food overwhelmed his senses, his stomach lurched reminding him he hadn't eaten in almost twenty four hours. Sitting up, he turned around and saw a strangely familiar scene. Maka was cooking in the large kitchen, reusable bags filled with fruit, vegetables and drinks.

"Hey," Maka said softly, not turning toward him, facing the stove. He always had found eerie how good she was sensing someone's presence, even long before she had soul perception abilities.

"Hi," was all he could manage. Maka didn't turn to look at him as she spoke.

"Can we just have dinner and talk later?" Her voice was different than he had heard before, conveying emotions to him in a way he'd forgotten.

"As long as you promise some sort of explanation," Soul sighed, sitting at one of the bar stools around the marble island. The question and his answer gave both of them deja vu.

"Okay," was all she could manage. Soul looked at what she was cooking, there was an assortment of different vegetables, a huge bowl with… marinara?

"What are you cooking?" It smelled good but Soul was lost as took in the shredded eggplant, carrots, red potatoes, onions, basil. It was Italian that's the extent of his knowledge.

"Ratatouille, it's a French casserole."

Soul was intrigued as he watched her sautee the herbs in the sauce before pouring the liquid over the thinly sliced bowl of vegetables, cover the container and pop it in the oven. Maka finally turned around and he forced himself not to look away. She looked bad but from the soreness in his own face, he was sure he did too. Puncture wounds littered her body, arms, neck, shoulders, everything piece of skin visible to the eye. Her bottom lip was split open on the side, a bruise darkening the skin under it. Her knuckles were busted and skinned open. He glanced at his own hands and saw his in much better conditions.

"Did you go and get all these by yourself?" Soul asked, irritated at him for sleeping through it all

"I am so sorry," he continued. Soul was beyond upset at himself for laying hands on her, especially as he further examined her. He could see finger marks on the arm he had violently yanked her from. The night had been a blur getting her back, it had been dark and visibility low even with his heightened vision.

"Don't be, I had it coming and no, I sent Peter to go get for me," she shrugged with a small smile, Soul didn't miss the grimace as blood prickled to the surface of her lip. Her words do not make him feel better by any means.

"Plus, it's not like you got away scotch free. If I hadn't fallen on that damned bush with all my weight, you'd be much worse off than me; have you even seen your shoulder?" She smirked silently. Soul knew she was probably right, he hadn't seen the damage but he sure as hell felt it.

"I guess. I just…" he trailed off but Maka held up a hand to silence him.

"Please, let's not do this now." She walked over, pulling cups from the cabinet and a glass bottle.

"Let's have a drink… and do _not _tell me no."

The evening passed smooth yet awkwardly. Maka told him why she had came back to Death City and why she had freaked out, she didn't mention anything after arriving back in the United States, about their fight or her suicidal begging. For now, what she told him was enough. In truth, neither of them was ready to address any of things said while fighting or after.

"I could have told you were being watched, followed," he said, sipping the bitter liquid. Cognac, she had called it, whatever that was. It was gross but he supposed it wasn't consumed for the taste exactly.

"Yeah, yeah I know. I just hate this place," Maka said more to herself than anyone else.

"Why?" He asked without thinking. Soul knew… at least he thought so.

Maka groaned, not really wanting to answer but she had mentally decided to be more open with him. Especially after his words last night and her realization of how much she had missed him. Maka just… didn't want to feel so lonely and angry anymore. Plus the steady building booze buzz words easier to speak.

"It's just whenever I am here… everyone who knew me expects me to be someone I used to be. Expects me to go around apologizing for something I don't regret. I get that I hurt people with my leaving but… I'm just proud of myself and the life I have built. Everyone who knew me either hates me or fears me… maybe both and on top of it, expects the worst from me."

Soul shook his head. "I don't think that's true. I mean I hated you… as much as I could but everyone was just so shocked. No one saw it coming and then the secrecy of it all afterwards only made everyone speculate the worst, especially whenever it came to public knowledge you were now working with two powerful witches. On top of it, you were subjecting yourself to their experimentation, even if not everyone knew that. DWMA members and the Witches Alliance is still shaky so the fact you jumped into bed with two of them directly after Asura and forming of the treaty… it was just a lot for everyone."

Maka had never seen it like that but as he spoke, it made a lot of sense. His words alone lifted a lot of anger she hadn't realized she had been holding on to so tightly. The way Soul explained it made perfect sense, in fact, looking at with those words she probably would have felt the same way.

"Maybe if you didn't isolate yourself from everyone so much, they'd be able to see what you see and understand how you feel," Soul offered, watching her sip her drink while she leaned against the counter. Her long hair was down but brushed, face bruised and split, body ragged with marks and mares but he still found her pretty. It was the vulnerability, he decided.

"Thanks for the perspective," she smiled softly, turning and checking the food right before the timer went off. Soul watched her pull out the dish, placing it on the marble in front of him. His mouth watered, it looked great, smelt great and it kept getting better as she garnished it with a little fresh Parmesan and parsley.

"No meat?" Soul asked, watching her place servings on each plate. Maka shook her head, handing him silverware with his portion.

"I rarely eat meat anymore, I was vegan for a long time, actually."

Soul huffed in surprise, he couldn't imagine Maka not eating miso pork ramen, or her favorite dish, coconut chicken curry.

"Why?" He asked through bites. It was scalding but it was so good and the alcohol had made him even hungrier.

"Well, whenever I first began train expanding my soul perceptions prowess, meditation was a huge aspect. I studied a lot of buddihst practices, including veganism and how it can help. By cutting out animal products, you feel cleaner, you sleep better, the hormones in meat and dairy effect more us than we think."

"Also," she continued. "Veganism made me look better," she laughed. Soul wanted to tell her that she never had problems in the looks department but held his tongue. They never had that sort of relationship and the one time they attempted to elevate it had turned out disastrous.

"How?" Is what he said instead, he was genuinely curious.

"Well, my skin looked a lot better for starters. My hair grew faster, shinier and softer. The dark circles under my eyes lifted since I could sleep better. I just generally felt like I could function better. Also dairy, even now, still messes up my stomach if it's too much. I religiously do not consume pork or beef anymore though, I made that horrible mistake once. Once," she reiterated.

"How long?" He asked, not finishing the question around heaping bites of food. She had always been a wonderful cook and her expertise had only gotten better with time.

"Vegan? Almost two years I think," Maka said around bites of steaming hot food.

Soul hummed and focused on the food. They fell into silence, he couldn't decide if it was comfortable or not. Either way Maka broke it was a question.

"So, uh, who fixed me up last night? Why didn't I wake up in the infirmary?"

Soul grimaced, thinking about Jessah. It was a can of worms that his brain wasn't ready for in his slightly impaired state.

"A new nurse, Jessah," he said as casually as he could.

Maka's eyebrows came together. "Was I wearing her… clothes?" She watched his face carefully, piecing the details together. If their incident was reported, something bad was sure to come out of it.

"Yes, I went to her… personally and asked her not to report it."

Maka didn't know what to make of it. Sure, she was thankful for it but so utterly confused. Also how would they explain why they were so beat up?

"I- thank you… more than you know. I'll make sure to give the clothes back but what are we going to about explaining… us?" Maka pointing at their injuries. Tomorrow they were expected to attend practice with Stein and Spirit, who would take one look at them and know a good idea of what happened.

"The truth," Soul shrugged. "What else can we say? There's no point in denying that we fist fought. If I am being honest, I think it was good for both of us," Soul laughed. She chuckled alongside him, agreeing wholeheartedly.

The rest of dinner went nice, Soul and Maka caught up and continued to drink. It was barely nine pm and Maka could definitely tell Soul was tipsy. She didn't mention it, not wanting to ruin his vibe. They talked about mostly work but conversation began to lead into personal territory as the bottle grew less full. Maka was showing him a video of her favorite rapper, a woman from Texas. She had even gotten to see her in concert whenever she played in London.

"Maka, where's the best place you've been?" Soul asked, cheeks flushed. Maka did not have to think about her answer, it was an easy one.

"Easy, favorite places to visit was St. Barthelemy and Kyoto. Don't make me choose because I won't but to live? There is no place like Italy," Maka sighed, thinking about Italy and her favorite beach and how her trip got so sorely spoiled. According to the initial plan, Maka should have been still there.

"Why?" He inquired. "Why Italy?"

Maka sighed again, thinking about all her favorite beautiful features.

"You've been there so you know how pretty it is but also the food, the countryside makes you feel like you're in a disney movie. The weather, it always bearable but you still get all four seasons, especially in Rome. Rome, all the Italian cities, are just so fun and exciting. The soccer block parties are always so wild," Maka felt herself rambling a little. "Also the shopping, everything is just made so much better there. The niche little shopping centers with the food stands and local artists getting drunk for tips… I just love it all. It's the fun and prettiness of Paris but not as dirty." Soul watched as she spoke, her eyes glazed over as she described it. Her mind was in Italy even though she sat in front of him. There was so much new, different things to know about her that he felt plain and rather undeveloped in comparison.

"What about you? You haven't told me anything outside of work stuff," she said referring to him.

"There's not too much to tell. I've been more in contact with me family though, Wes is suppose to come with Mom in a couple of weeks."

Maka was excited for him, it was nice to know some good had come into his life. She wanted to know more.

"Rumor has it Lord Death's Scythe has a side business," she grinned. Soul knew she was talking about the jazz club he started up whenever he had been with Jessah. In fact, it had been her idea and encouraged him. Whenever he ended things, he sold the business after Jessash refused to take it over. It was named J's after all, it felt like theirs and he couldn't hold on to anything of theirs.

"I sold the club, it was too much to juggle," he shrugged. Maka felt him closing down, whatever she was asking was alluding to something else and it was something he didn't want to breach. She decided since he took great care in respecting her privacy she owed him the same.

"Oh okay," was all she said. Standing up, she slammed another drink wanting to be drunk. Her body hurt, Maka did not look forward to trying to sleep tonight… or practice tomorrow for that matter. Another drink made it down her throat and she refilled her drink one more time before hopping up on the counter across the way from Soul. He was staring at her, more like staring through her.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"Do I look cheap?" His answer made let out an ugly but authentic laugh.

"You should ask me that whenever you aren't bruised and drunk."

"I am not drunk," he protested. Maka raised an eyebrow, challenging him.

"Bet you can't stand on one foot for thirty seconds."

Up for the challenge, Soul stood up but far too quickly. She may have been on to something because he stumbled several times on both feet. Sitting for too long had deceived him. Maka was laughing loudly and by his side in a flash to ensure he didn't fall. He gave an embarrassed grin, he didn't drink often by any means.

"Not everyone can be you," he mumbled, heat creeping up his cheeks. Maka howled with laughter.

"I can drink like a man," Maka agreed. Soul winced as she steadied him, forgetting the deep bruise she had inflicted on him, in fact helping him stand made her body hurt too.

"I… think I should get going," Soul said, glancing at the time. It was almost eleven at night and he was heavily tipsy. Maka nodded, feeling her own heaviness. She did need rest, especially before tomorrow.

"I'll call you over a cab."

"I drove my bike here," Soul protested, she crossed her arms dangling the keys between them. Soul narrowed his eyes, confused at what point she had grabbed those.

"If you insist on taking your bike home tonight, you'll be riding bitch." Soul briefly tried imagined the idea of holding on to Maka on his own bike and nearly let out a laugh. Yeah, _right_.

"Since when did you learn to drive a motorcycle?"

"I am vast expanse of hidden talents, Soul," she said very seriously. Soul had no doubt she was but there absolutely no way he would let her drive in her physical condition nor would pride allow it. Soul scoffed the whole idea.

"Yeah, that's not happening. You have drank twice as much as me," Soul pointed out nodding to the nearly empty bottle of brown liquor.

"And my tolerance is easily three times yours, so call it even. Besides, I am not taking no for an answer, you have two options. Cab or I'm driving, pick before I do it for you."

It was no surprise that Soul ended up in the back of a cab, Maka had tried her damnedest to drive his bike home and he laughed at her. She seemed so eager to drive it and if she were sober and not injured he probably would have allowed it despite his pride.

The drive to his flat was peaceful but that peace felt invasive. Soul had whiplash at the sudden change in their relationship, unsure if it was some sort of fever dream. He was very happy with the progress but it didn't feel real, Soul felt as if he would walk in practice tomorrow and it would be the same cold, withdrawn Maka. The woman he had the pleasure of talking tonight was a familiar stranger. The Maka he had known growing up was stiff, rule abiding, goody two shoes with a smart mouth and lethal Maka chop. The Maka that spoke with him today was casual, rebellious, edgy and now had a bit of a swearing problem. In fact, he felt as if their personalities had switched. Soul snorted at that, maybe that was a stretch but the change within both of them was drastic and unsuspected.

Before he knew it, he was home and asleep before he head hit the pillow.

"Care to explain what the hell happened?" Stein said, flabbergasted at both of their appearances. Spirit wasn't there yet but Maka was sure he was bound to be shocked as well. Maka had done her best last night to reduce the wounds appearances. If Andrea had been here, she could've used a bit of magic but Andrea seemed to be absent from Maka's side more often times than not in the recent weeks. Right now, that absence provoked extreme frustration.

"Not really," Maka answered honestly. She didn't want to explain anything, she heard Soul take in a deep breath preparing himself. She wasn't sure how to go about explaining anything so she let him do the talking.

"Maka flew back from Italy after confirming my suspicions that someone was watching her and then well… we fought."

Stein groaned, cradling his head in his hand. He was still busy being irritated at them whenever Spirit came in, yelling some nonsense but stopped to point out their mangled bodies. Stein repeated the situation to his partner, saving them the awkwardness.

"You're kidding?" They both shook their head at Spirit.

"Well, tell me this… who won?" Spirit asked after a long moment. Maka and Soul shared a look, faint smiles playing over their lips.

"Me," Soul boasted, pointing to himself with his thumb. Maka rolled her eyes.

"Negative ghost rider but if it helps you sleep at night, keep telling yourself that. You were my bitch." Soul burst out laughing at the thought.

"The only thing you made your bitch was that cactus bush," he snorted. Maka felt heat rush to her face. Tripping so epically had been incredibly embarrassing.

"We can rematch," Maka said, stepping back with arms crossed over her chest. Soul willed himself not to notice how that position accentuated created a line of cleavage that had never existed before.

"Stop," Stein interjected. "You guys have effectively ruined the schedule of these practices enough already. I don't know the details and quite frankly… I am glad to see you guys civil, even somewhat friendly but can you both figure a non violent way of socializing?"

That made Maka laugh, a real genuine laugh that filled the whole gym. Even Stein and Spirit joined her by chuckling.

"Well, I guess this changes the plans."

Soul and Maka sat in a familiar room, they had been in this exact room under similar circumstances years ago. Deja vu washed over them both. They shared a look once inside the candle filled room.

"Alright," Stein said, clearing his throat, Spirit beside him. "You know the drill, you guys know what these candles do. Since we can't practice, I need both of you to focus on matching wavelengths again. Now, discuss why your problems with each other."

Maka and Soul shared a look. Even though, sure, they had moments that night but… with the help of these candles neither one of them was prepared.

"More specifically, speak frankly on why exactly it has been so difficult for both you guys to get along? Why are both of you retaining so much animosity toward each other?"

"I am not sure what has happened but I can see your relationship has somewhat… calmed but still. It's obvious you still can't match wavelength. Don't come out until you guys figured it out." With that Stein slammed the door behind him.

Soul and Maka shared another look, awkwardness filled the air. Both of them were nervous and still sore from their fist fight but neither of them were ready for another one. Nor were either of them ready for any part of the conversation bound and determined to happen. Sighing loudly, Maka collapsed on the ground.

"Well, lay it on me," Maka invited first, even though the words were an invitation her tone reflected the opposite of what her words conveyed.

"What do you hate about me?" Maka mused and Soul already felt his irritation rise in his chest.

"I don't hate you," Soul snapped. Maka crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Oh? So that's why we fought in the middle of desert after I called out trust and good faith because you don't resent me. Makes sense."

Maka's anger was already being fanned by those stupid candles. She had forgotten they existed honestly and she hated every second of being there, the lack of control she felt over her own brain was maddening, it reminded her far too much of those dark months of her life right before her runes had been tattooed on her.

"No, Maka. I don't hate you, I just don't _get_ you," Soul sighed, trying to hold on his emotions.

"And that's fine. You don't need to get me," she huffed, arms still crossed. Soul wanted to rip his hair out. Of course she was missing or maybe just avoiding the point.

"Why can't you just admit to being _wrong_? I get it, you left for you and your health but explain to me why exactly you couldn't just let me know! No note, no half assed apology, no kiss my ass, instead you ghosted me for six year! After years of partnership!"

Maka's face grew pale, she knew he had plenty of points. Maka had taken the easy, cheap route out of their relationship.

"Even after regaining control of your sanity, you still never tried to even reconcile things in the slightest. Why? Why couldn't you have just said something, anything? I was fucking distraught for weeks, Maka. Do you know how hard it was for me walking across that fucking stage without you? How hard it was for all of us? Do you even _care_?" All those questions he wanted to ask her that night finally spilled out, questions he was afraid to ask because he wasn't sure if he was ready for the answers.

"Because I was ashamed," she said quietly, so softly he barely caught it. His heart stopped for a moment. That was all she said and air grew quiet around them. She didn't seem intent on elaborating.

"Ashamed of what? Betraying the only person that ever stuck around for you, no matter what? Ashamed of lying to me for months leading up to it? You promised me you'd come to me whenever you could talk about," Soul said at last not able to shake the rising anger. Maka response to that was a sharp, dangerous look in her eyes.

"But instead you skipped town and jumped into bed with some witch who used you as an experiment and buys you designer clothes and jewelry." Soul was unable to hold back his words, the candles igniting the heat inside of him. Maka's eyes darkened and perhaps if she wasn't covered in cuts and bruises he would be more intimidated.

"Watch your fucking mouth before I finish what you started," she said lowly, anger boiling in her body. How dare he bring up Andrea right now, she had no place in this conversation.

"This is about you and me, this has nothing to do with your jealousy," Maka continued, glaring intensely at the white haired man sitting across from her.

"And yes, I was ashamed of my handling of the situation but don't fucking exaggerate things. I did what I had to, do I need to remind you of the fact I was breath away from ripping your damn throat out? Or do you just forget that major detail for the sake of argument?"

"No, Maka," he growled at her, anger continuously rising. "It's not that I don't remember it's because I know that you would have never actually gone through with it. You would have never killed me or hurt me. It's called _trust_." His fists were balled tightly in his lap as tried to work on controlling his thoughts. Maka's expression fell slightly at his words, they were heart warmingly foolish.

"You seemed pretty convinced the other night I would have, and that's why you are a fucking fool. I had no goddamn control and you cannot seem to grasp that. You have no idea what I have done. You should be scared of me. The blood on my hands makes me fucking sick. I hate myself, I hate the things I've done. I hate the things I enjoyed doing and you just don't understand and you never fucking will because you're blackblood never induced white hot bloodlust. I didn't trust myself let alone anyone else! I subjected myself to experimentation because I was desperate for any sense of control!"

"And what about after? Years later, still radio silence from you, you saw me at Kid's coronation and you tucked tail and ran! Like a damned coward! Just admit you couldn't face the mess you'd made!" Maka slammed her hands on the ground between them at his words.

"You're right Soul! You are fucking right! Like I fucking said, I was ashamed! I was a fucking child with so much damn trauma to deal with! I fucked up! I know that! And I am sorry that I did what I could! And I hate myself for it! I don't need your help reminding me of the biggest fucking mistake of my life! Stop trying to make everything personal!" The last part sent Soul over the edge.

"Stop trying to make everything personal?" Soul yelled. "Everything about it was personal Maka! Why is that so hard for you to grasp? I wanted to build a fucking life with you but you just took off without anything! I was convinced we going in the right directions and you just _vanished_!"

"Tell me this Soul, can you accept me as I am right now?"

"No," the words were quick and thoughtless.

"Then you never deserved to build a life with me. Chances are that I would have gone of the deep end regardless if I left or not. I will never be the Maka that mothered you, the Maka who woke you up for school, the Maka who folded your laundry. I have changed, life has made me different. I will not change for anyone but myself. I accept myself and my many failures, you should do the same."

Her words hurt more than any of the injuries inflicted physically by her. Soul emotions were raging, he had a difficult time meeting her gaze. Her eyes were surprisingly clear and focused, it made him feel small and childish. Her words were so decided. Looking at her now, Soul saw the similarities he claimed did not exist. Maka had always been one to correct her ways in the face adversity and he could, somewhat, see the hard work she had put into herself. Her chin was high, lips tight with her decision. Stubborn to the core, as always, she bore this same calculating air around her. It had felt different in the past but he supposed he saw differently as a child but now he saw her as a whole.

No more words were spoken between them, Soul saw the beginning of the end. As much as he hated to admit it, he understood her view. Perhaps not empathized with it but saw it and saw the validity in her words and actions.

"Accept yourself, then we'll have this conversation again," was her last words before she left the room.


	10. Chapter 10

Later that week, Maka received confirmation they pinned who had been responsible for the fake letter during her stay at the Court.

"What was this women job title?" Maka inquired.

"A janitor, as you suspected," a man told her, Harold. Maka felt a flash of pride run through her. She had been doubting herself but she'd been along the right path the entire time. It gave her the confidence she needed.

"I would like to request her to moved to Death City for further questioning," Maka responded.

"You do not have the authority to request that, Meister," Harold snapped at her. Her lips pursed tightly, her jaw locking. No wonder Mason hated this guy.

"Well you better prepare it anyways, Lord Death will send the confirmation of my request, _assistant_," she spat back at him and hung up without further words. Good news with a bad attitude momentarily killed her mood as she stalked across the scorching city, not caring to hail a cab.

For the first time since she had arrived in Death City, she climbed up the stairs of DWMA. Suddenly, nostalgia surged through her chest. The entryway hadn't changed in the slightest. She forced herself not flinch as she saw Soul and Blackstar open the door in front of her. Blackstar looked as shocked to see her as the last time they'd passed on her way out of the Death room. Perhaps from all the healing bruised and cuts that still remained from her and Soul's late night endeavor. Her first instinct was to walk as fast as she could pass them but before she could bother, Soul began talking to her.

"Hey, Kid isn't here if you're going to see him."

Her mood was in a continuous downward spiral, why couldn't she win just once? Maka groaned loudly and fought the urge to hit something. Perhaps a bit dramatic but these past couple of days hadn't been the best. At least she had Andy and Mason to look forward to tonight. She missed them intensely, she needed her friends.

"Damnit," she sighed, annoyed beyond words. Nodding to both of them politely, she went to spin on her heel to head back to her office again.

"What's up? Maybe I can help?"

Maka turned around again to face them, shrugging.

"Can you order a prisoner transfer? They found out who was responsible for the note back in the Court and I would like to interview them but the witches are refusing to transfer them on my words, apparently I don't hold enough authority to make those requests," she complained. Soul looked thoughtful, as if trying to decide if he could or not.

"Come with me," Soul said to Maka then turned to Blackstar. "I'll see you and Tsubaki at dinner?"

"You bet!" he yelled, dashing off. It was nice to know the world hadn't changed at least one them.

"He hasn't changed," Maka chuckled, watching him disappear from sight. Soul looked down at her from atop of the stairs, holding open the door for her.

"You'd be surprised, maybe if you talked to him and Tsubaki you'd know that."

Maka ignored his words, not really caring to snap at anyone else today. Especially after the last lengthy conversation they had during the candles session. Practice hadn't been as stiff as it was their first lesson but pretty damn close. However, they had managed a low level resonance which was a step in the right direction. Even so, Maka held up a barrier to protect her thoughts and emotions and she suspected he was doing the same. Even so, the low level resonance made a drastic difference in wielding him. His wavelengths no longer felt hot and prickly and she could actually move freely with his weapons form. They'd even managed to keep up Stein and Spirit until their time was up the other day. Progress didn't happen all at once.

"Yeah, whatever," she mumbled, following him through the familiar halls. The inside was icy compared to melting heat outside. Today she wore a pair of loose pastel watercolor shorts and a simple white satin tank top tucked in and strappy sandals, which had been fine for her office that allows heat to seep through the huge windows. However, inside the halls of DWMA heading toward the newly constructed Death room was an entirely different story. Her thin clothing did nothing to keep the bite of AC away from her. Her teeth were rattling uncontrollably. The cold had her wrapping her arms around herself and pulling her long hair from the sloppy ponytail. Bonus to having such long hair.

"You're cold?" Maka could hear the smile in Soul's voice.

"N-n-no I shivering-g because I'm s-sweating," she rattled, trying to force herself to stop but failing. Without turning around Soul laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls as they came to a stop and he entered a code on a small mirror. The wall opened for them into Lord Death's new office. Of course everything was exactly even and symmetrical, that was probably the entire reason Kid constructed it. Everything was black and white with touches of dark red, one of her favorite color schemes.

Soul strode behind the desk before picking up a file and flipping through it. Before long, he was dialing a number from the sheet of paper he flipped to.

"Hello, how are you Harold?" There was a momentary pause. "Good to hear, Lord Death asked to request prisoner transfer of the mole. We would like to conduct our own separate interrogation with them." Soul listened, grunting and an occasional yes or no for the next couple of minutes.

"Yes, that's fine," he said as Maka strained to hear what was being said on the other side of the phone.

"Okay thank you sir," and within minutes he hung up and nodded to Maka. With a posh grin, he shrugged at her.

"Guess I have the magic touch," he bragged, baiting her. She didn't take the worm and just let it slide off her back. All in all, today was a good day but she didn't feel like having casual conversation. Her head was a bit in the clouds with all the details of her investigation these past couple of days. Information from her ground teams and from the agents working the cold cases had come flooding in, leaving her overwhelmed trying to draw new theories and conclusion. Thoughts of the recent murders kept her up at night, they were all over the place. It was a new found theme for bodies to be dropped in public places, making everyone job vastly more difficult with human police constantly trying to interfere. Although her initial theory of it being a worldwide operation had held true thus far with bodies of missing Allied witches and DWMA members being found in North and South America, Australia and Asia as well. Every murder was gruesome and violent, the most recent of them had been burned so badly the person was still unidentified as they struggled to get any viable DNA from the corpse.

"What? No thank you?" Soul asked as Maka just turned to leave. If she was being honest, she was zoned out and hadn't even given manners any thought. Even as she spoke, she was deep in her thoughts still.

"Thank you," she muttered, not turning to face him still. She needed to get back to her office and check this woman's background and create a series of questions to have whenever the woman arrived.

"Do you not want to know when they'll be here?" Soul inquired, forcing Maka to clear away her thoughts for a moment.

"Oh yeah."

"Next week on Thursday," he told her, his brows drawn together in a questioning manner.

"Are you okay?" He asked, stepping closer to her. Sometimes she was shocked at their height difference, she wasn't the shortest girl but he towered over her and he seemed to get taller by the minute.

"I'm good, just got a lot of work to do back at the office before Andrea and Mason get here," she shrugged, stepping away. She waved to him with her back to him as she called out.

"Thanks for the help! See you Monday!"

Maka was back in her office, standing in the middle of the room. Papers surrounded her and a huge white board with pinned pictures and various arrows pointing to different papers or faces. In several unresolved cases there had been similar details, such as the manner of death and markings on their bodies. However the people varied from human to witch to DWMA members. In the recent killings, humans haven't been found. The human's found in the cold cases had very obviously been killed in a supernatural way, such a burn marks from the inside out or for another poor human, being choked to death by tree roots. These cases could be unrelated and just been humans at the wrong place at the wrong time, the only consistency that tied those two cases to the current one was the location in Swiss Alps.

Some of the witches had demonic runes burned violently into their skins, their faces open mouthed and terrified, Maka found it hard to look at them. Maka glanced at her own runes, which were in desperate need of retracing. How powerful were those runes to kill those witches? What was the goal? She knew little of on how to read runes and decipher their meanings, she'd have to have Andy look at those three pictures.

The DWMA members from the cold cases were just as bad, if not worse. There was over a dozen of suspected unresolved related cases. She was irked to see most of them had been skinned alive and various bones stolen from their bodies. Seeing all this furthered her thoughts of them attempting to raise the dead, why else would you need skin and bones? If that were the case, the runes could be soul extraction. Soul extraction and relocation was possible, Archne had proved that whenever taking the souls of witches and placing them inside of weapons, creating death weapons. But she wondered why this organization didn't just kill the witch, that was the easiest manner of soul extraction. Obviously, they had more to uncover. Another fact was huge time period these cases took place over, some of them were before Asura and Achrne had been awakened and some were after, it was breeded more confusion and she blindly grasped for ideas to explain it.

Maka sighed, brain hurting as she sat on the floor in the middle of her paper mess. She glanced at the clock and nearly jumped, it was hours after she was supposed to leave. Now she would have _no_ time to cook Andrea and Mason dinner as previously promised. Oops. Maka rushed from the office, not moving a single paper and she grabbed her purse and phone and dashing out the door.

It was nearly eight in the evening, their plane probably already landed. Dialing Andrea's number as she ran down the street.

"Hey sweets, we just landed are you going to meet us on the taxiway?"

"Um, actually, I just left the office. I'm sorry I los-"

"Yeah I already know, you lost track of time and didn't cook dinner huh?"

Maka squeaked in response, Andy had definitely expected that. Yikes. Maka slowed her pace, not feeling the need to run anymore.

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"Because I know you, plus when we talked last night you couldn't stop talking about the investigation no matter how many times I tried to change the subject," Andrea laughed, she could hear Mason's voice in the background.

"Sorry," she repeatedly meekly. It was true, the cases had been the only thing she'd been capable of thinking about this past week or so. Not that she had anything better to think about, after her last trip to Italy she was purposefully ignoring those creeping paranoia thoughts and her current job kept her busy. So busy she hadn't drank since the night with Soul, not even a glass of wine to help her sleep. Instead she spent her nights pouring over details of new information provided by her ground teams until she was so exhausted she passed out on the couch or at the kitchen bar. It was easier than laying in her bed, wondering when she would be the next dead meister.

She'd also failed to mention her beach trip gone wrong to Andrea and Mason, letting them believe she arrived back in Death City on Monday as previously discussed.

"Tell me again why you didn't want to go home this weekend?" Andrea asked, Maka gulped not really wanting to lie but also not interested in worrying them. Neither Mason nor Andrea said it outright but she could tell they were worried about her whenever they randomly texted her throughout the days.

"Because I plan on going back to the office tomorrow," she said quickly, not allowing the uncertainty to seep in her words. It wasn't a lie either, she had every intention of dragging Andrea there with her to mull over the rune markings on those dead witches Stein had sent her a couple of days ago.

"Okay… meet at your place?" Andy asked.

"Yup, I'll see you there!" Maka chripped, genuinely happy to be seeing her friends at the same time for the first time in forever. They hung up and she was in lift, talking to Peter in Russian with a bright smile.

"Your… wounds are healing nicely," Peter said. Maka felt a blush, it was true you could still see all the mares still from her and Soul's fight. Something she was not excited to explain to Mason and Andrea.

"Thank you, I'm glad the worst of it is healed. I think I am going out tonight," she sighed, a pang of sadness at the thought of her appearance, it ruined the way she looked in her opinion. Thankfully she could cover all the marks on her face with makeup now, another task she'd have to do in a hurry once inside her place. Peter shot her toothy grin, revealing a couple missing teeth. Well, he was pretty old after all.

"Don't get yourself in another bar fight!" he hollered at her as she left the lift. Confusion ran through her as she turned to ask him what he meant by that but the metal doors had already closed.

Maka left the door open and she heard it open as she completed the last steps of her makeup, even putting on false eyelashes just because. However, she was in a robe and her hair was messily piled on her head as Mason called out her name.

"Getting ready!" She yelled back, brushing her hair before she picked her outfit. Thankfully she'd washed it recently so wearing it down would be fine not to mention the easiest and fastest route. She was hungry and she knew they both were too. Maka didn't have much clothes here, she had went a bought a lot of workout gear and just a couple outfits. She'd have to have her stuff shipped her since she wasn't daring enough to go back by herself at the moment or anytime in the near future. Practically, she knew if they wanted her dead she'd be dead but she still didn't want to put herself through it.

Maka pulled out a long sleeve dress, it seemed modest until it was put on. It clung to everything she had, the hem falling mid thigh and effectively covering the worst of her bruises and cuts. She felt Andy coming toward her room and she hurried to put on some thigh high boots, covering more skin. She knew she'd had to explain herself whenever Andy redid her runes tomorrow morning but she ignored that for now. Andy came through the door as Maka finished securing the boots on her, impressed with rash outfit decision. It was a bit daring for just dinner, but she liked how creamy her skin looked under the crimson red and complimented the green in her eyes. Andrea let out a low whistle.

"Like what you see?" Maka smirked, giving her a little twirl, aware of the dress already slipping up her legs, maybe some spandex shorts would be required.

"What idiot would say no?" Andy response made Maka blush a bit, her eyelashes fluttering.

"I didn't make dinner so I figured we'd go out. On me, of course."

Andrea laughed and pulled her into a hug. "Looking like that, someone is going to pay for our meal anyway." Maka grinned and leaned her head against her shoulder with heeled height.

"Missed you," Maka murmured to Andrea. It was true, she'd felt so lonely and bored without her sidekick, and overwhelmed. So overwhelmed.

"Missed you too, don't look so down we're here now. Also you better put on some jewelry before we leave."

Maka laughed at the scolding, Andrea was a slut for jewelry and it showed all the time no matter the occasion. Maka left their embrace to do as she was told, opting for the simple gold necklace with her initials Andry gifted her, big gold hoops and a sleeve of plain matching gold bracelets.

"That outfit would look good with the waist chains I got you," Andrea hinted as she stood next to her the huge bathroom. Taking the hint, Maka dug to the bottom of the wooden box to find it. She had only worn it one other time, it wasn't exactly her style but looked cute for the beach. The chain was gold too but littered with tiny diamonds and white crystals. Andy helped her put on over the dress and was impressed by how good it looked. Perhaps she never got the tits she always hoped for but her curves were banging and the body chain made her waist seem dramatically smaller.

Without further delay, they had decided on going to the jazz club that recently opened a restaurant inside of it. It was friday night and their website advertised live music from local artists. It also made her feel a bit better know she wouldn't be overdressed. When they got there, there was a bit of a line but it went quickly and they got a table in the middle.

"Welcome to J's lounge!" A spokesman announced on the stage, the curtains still closed.

"Tonight we have the beautiful Lily Waldorf and Blair Waldorf playing the piano and saxophone, please welcome them!" The curtains opened and her eyes nearly popped out her head as Blair, the cat, holding a large saxophone in her hands. She looked exactly the same as she remembered, evening wearing a painfully revealing dress. The woman sitting behind the piano had mass of blonde curls and big lips. Without hesitation, they began a rendition of an old Sade song to Maka's delight.

The waiter came over, handing them a sushi and hibachi menu and ran off to collect their tables drink order, including a bottle of champagne and hot sake. It was that kind of night, Maka decided. Maka noticed people beginning to get to the dance floor as the second song began playing, it was another Sade song and Maka hoped that would the pattern of the night. In fact, they were rather good.

Soul sat across the room, trying his hardest not to stare at Maka. The club was packed, dozens of people stood between them and he idly wondered if she knew. She probably did and even so, didn't bother to even glance his way. He forced himself away from looking at her back, to rejoin the conversation. It was Tsubaki and Blackstar's engagement dinner. They sat towards the back at a long table, the couple at the end along with Kid, Patti, Liz, Tsubaki's parents, Sid, Mira Naigus and even Stein and Marie had joined to celebrate. The whole lot didn't seem to notice Maka's presence or at least didn't show it.

"Do you remember that Soul?" Blackstar asked him, laughing.

"What?" Soul asked, having lost track of the conversation. His answer made everyone laugh and he felt a blush creeping up his neck. Blackstar waved it away, not noticing his change in mood. Sometimes his best friends was so oblivious and he was grateful for it at times like this. However Stein did not let it slip as he sat next to Soul, glancing the direction of Maka. Soul shook his head, not wanting to recognize it. It's not like Maka had been invited or really had any business interfering with the dinner. Blackstar nor Tsubaki hadn't brought up his previous Meister's return and now wasn't the time for it.

Plus Maka was with Mason and Andrea.

"Can I get another whiskey?" Soul asked the waitress as she passed which she happily responded before scurrying off toward the bar. The food smelled good and he was excited for his sushi roll and miso soup, especially since the ginger and seaweed salad had been promptly given away to Blackstar. Two things he hated put together in the same bowl, gross. The whiskey came quickly and he sipped as he listened to the surrounding conversation. Mostly talk of wedding plans between Tsubaki and the other women and Blackstar recalling old missions and how he surpassed god floated about. It was nice, even if he wasn't actively conversing. He was happy to see his two friends so happy and in love, their hands intertwined on top of the table. They both became flustered at the mention of a honeymoon.

"We don't know yet," Tsubaki flushed glancing at her soon to be husband.

"I've heard St. Barthelemy is beautiful," Soul said without thinking, he covered his own blush by taking a steady drink.

"Where's that?" Blackstar asked, interested. Soul wasn't exactly sure if he was honest, he just knew Maka had said it was a french island.

"Not sure but it's a french island," he shrugged, taking another sip. The heat of the booze was rushing through him, it was hitting fast since he hadn't eaten since early this morning. The food needed to hurry.

"Southern Carribean sea," Stein answered, of course he would know.

Tsubaki and Blackstar shared a look. "It sounds like a honeymoon spot for sure," Blackstar grinned, nudging Soul was a sharp elbow. Soul resisted the urge to jump, he was still bruised from a week ago.

"Sounds like you know honeymoon destinations, huh?"

"Well, I was almost married," Soul said dryly, throwing away the fact that wasn't where the thought emerged from in the slightest. It was true however and the comment made the couples eyes go a bit wide as they scrambled to the next topic, wedding dresses. Which Blackstar promptly provided several very inappropriate remarks. Ballsy even for Blackstar with Tsubaki's parents just on the other side of her. He applauded his bravery and watched the bride's father shoot daggers. He chuckled under his breath, this was bound to be an interesting night to say at the very least. As the best man, Soul supposed he was somewhat in charge of roping his best friend in whenever needed but maybe a good scolding from a father would do him some good. Death knows he needed it, regardless of how much he may or may not have grown up in recent years.

The dinner came soon enough and he devoured it whole, the fish could have seen been moving and Soul would have not cared. The miso soup at the end sealed the deal for him, his stomach felt so full he was sure he'd passed out the moment he got home. He still had to sit through the desert where the Soul had originally been expected to make some sort of speech as the first man but thankfully Stein had asked for a formal chance to speak. It had relieved Soul, speeches-words in general, he wasn't good with. At last that moment came, the wait staff made frantic circles to clear off the excess plated for the last round. During that time, Stein stood and waited for everyone's attention.

"I would first like to formally introduce myself to Tsubaki's family, I am Franken Stein and I was both your daughter's teacher and soon to be son in law's. Secondly, congratulations. I am very impressed Blackstar was able to convince Tsubaki into marriage, he is a smart man. With that being said, Blackstar and Tsubaki holds a special place in my life even among all of my other fabulous students. Of all my students, they are the one who achieved everything they sought with minimal damage. I am very proud of the adults I helped cultivate, not only did they play a large role in the defeat of Asura, they also continued to grow from the experience. Hand in hand, they sorted through that trauma and formed a path of salvation and growth. Since then they have been involved in several covert and non-covert operations that have mostly gone successfully. They are truly a model partnership in work, life and love," Stein said, smiling at the whole table. His eyes lingered on Soul at the end. Everyone raised their drinks along with him, cheering to the couple. Soul knew the words weren't aimed at him in any manner but it still felt like it. He glanced over in Maka's direction and was surprised to see the table already gone and sat with new people. Soul hadn't expected the wave of disappointment to run through him as fiercely as it did. Desert had barely arrived but he did not feel like eating it. Instead, he called over the wait staff and requested half the bill.

"The bill has been taken care of, tip included, sir," was not what he had expected to hear. Blackstar next to him overheard.

"By who?" Blackstar asked and the waiter shook his head.

"The person requested to remain anonymous."

"What did they look like? Was it a man or woman?" Soul pressed, beyond curious who was willing to pay such a large bill. It was hundreds of dollars if everyone's drinks and add ons were considered.

"I'm sorry sir, sh-they asked to remain anonymous." Soul heard all he needed to hear, he had slipped a bit and confirmed Soul's thoughts. So she had acknowledged them. The whole table was murmuring who the suspected person was, obviously having missed the man's pronoun slip. Soul immediately started handing out his goodbyes, needing to investigate this further.

Soon Soul was on his bike and he didn't realize just how late it was, past eleven now. Momentarily he allowed himself to be caught up in his insecurities but he was already on the elevator. Plus, he wasn't here to chew her out, just out of curiosity. As he walked down the hallway, he wished he had soul perception. At least, he could somewhat know what he was about to get into.

The knocks on Maka's door made her jump, it was the last thing she had expected. Maybe they did forget something. Maka stumbled to the door, eager and hopeful that her friends changed their minds and decided to stay the night with her. It would be like they were back in Italy after a drunken night out.

The door opened and Soul already knew she was drunk. Really drunk. Maka flung open the door far too fast and forceful for her own balance. Soul had only seen her a vague view of her from behind. A crowd of people separated their tables throughout the night and he was glad he didn't see the details of her outfit. She wore a high necked long sleeve dark red dress, thigh high boots that were half way unlaced, showing black thigh high socks under. Her dress was hitched up her legs, bunching fabric around her hips. Her waist was bedazzled in an expensive looking body lace and her staple golden jewelry hung around her throat, wrists and ears.

Her body was so distracting, especially as of recently for Soul. In this situation, whiskey influencing heavily on his thoughts. Her legs were endless, the wide flare of her hips seemed godly and toned, tightness of her stomach showing effortlessly in the outfit she wore. His eyes always studied the black ink adorning her porcelain skin, a scaled dragon peeking its head from under her tights. He hadn't realized how much it enticed him until he peeled his eyes away forcefully.

"Hi?" Maka said in a question. His gaze met hers, she had done her makeup. She had gotten significantly better since high school, her eyes smokey and heavy with fluttery lashes and reminisce of glossy lips.

"You paid for the whole table, was that really necessary?"

Maka sighed, annoyed and pursing her lips in a way that confirmed it. She pushed her long hair out of her face, swaying slightly as she did so. Her cheeks were so pink and flushed, Soul hadn't seen her this drunk before. He wondered just how much it took for her to be this gone.

"Those fucking rats, they had one job," she groaned.

Soul couldn't help but laugh, she was very predictable.

"Hide your tracks better," Soul shrugged, inviting himself inside. Maka's confusion deepened as the man breezed by her. She wasn't willing to argue, she was so drunk and he wasn't sober either.

"Was I interrupting?" Soul asked from the kitchen, opening cabinets. Maka stripped the damned boots as she followed after him, throwing them on the floor. She was wordless whenever she saw Soul pouring them both drinks, Gin.

"Ice?"

She shook her head. "No, neat is fine." Maka wasn't entirely too sure what to make of all this. Soul glanced around her place and saw the stacks of papers, folders and case boxes litter her place. It was clear some things about Maka hadn't changed, she was still an extremist when it came to her job. Even with their low level resonance he could sense her exhaustion and uneasiness during practices.

"So… what are you doing here?" Maka asked slowly, taking a sip of her drink. Her green eyes were hazy yet alert as she watched the tall man fold himself onto her couch. He didn't answer, silence stretched between them. Maka could feel the heaviness of the air.

"You never answered me, why did you pay for the engagement dinner? Did you know it was the engagement dinner?"

"I asked about… and I paid for it because I wanted to," Maka's words slurred together a bit, Soul noted. She was still standing, no longer in her heeled boots. She looked so small now, Soul said that loosely as his eyes trailed down her legs momentarily, they were clad in over the knee socks. He idly remembered the set of starry, stripped pair she would wear around the apartment they shared together.

"Why did you want to?" Soul pressed, flaring Maka's annoyance.

"Did you come to interrogate me?"

"Yes, actually." Maka groaned at the answer, shifting her weight between her feet. She didn't exactly want to sit next to him but not across the room either. Instead she made a spot on the coffee table, careful not trifle with any papers or books she had laid about.

"If you paid for it, why not let them know it was you? I'm sure they would like to thank you," he said in reference to Blackstar and Tsubaki. Maka shook her head.

"That wasn't the point, I'm sure they weren't going to pay for to begin with. I just… wanted to okay?"

"Understandable, I know how close you and Blackstar were growing up." Soul's statement hung between them. Her annoyance was beginning to morph into something more potent. The last thing she wanted to do was change the bubbly goodness of her current state into a drunken rage. Something Soul was rather good at.

"Listen-"

"Before you get mad… I wanted to say something else and then I'll leave. You're right… about the acceptance thing. I just felt like I needed to be held accountable for all my failures, to be punished." Maka's anger slipped away from her seeing his face contorted with emotions. His brows furrowed together tightly, his jaw stiff as he stared at the almost empty glass with unmatched intensity.

"I didn't realize how much of… well, everything I blamed myself for. Not to say I wasn't pissed at you but I just couldn't let go of the fact that maybe I could have done more."

Maka couldn't stop her body, she reached across them and placed a soft hand on his knee. She smiled at him softly, staring at him silently until he made eye contact. His crimson eyes were clouded, hues of emotions displaying in them. Maka almost tried to view his soul in that moment but thought better of it. Some conversations were meant to be spoken, not read. Nor did she really want to go any deeper than things already were.

"I'm not sure if this will help but I doubt I would have stayed for anyone or anything… I am my mother's daughter after all." Her words did not comfort him, the words pierced his gut in fact.

"I wish that weren't the case… sometimes I just wonder what would have happened if you didn't leave." Now it was Maka's turn to have the air wrenched from her lungs. She, too, wondered those thoughts. Not in a long time but those thoughts had nearly drowned her, especially after learning to control her madness. She distracted herself with mission after mission, extreme magic training with Andrea had nearly left no time for Maka to even breathe. At the time, thoughts of Soul and the future with him she'd ruined often plagued her mind and interrupted her meditation. Seeing Soul at Kid's coronation had been rough… her single sighting of him lived on in her dreams and thoughts for months on months. It had taken work to remove him… and how she felt about Soul.

But right now, drink in hand and open dialogue had caused those feelings and thoughts came rushing to the surface.

"Yeah… me too," Maka said after at last, meeting his gaze again.

"Those thoughts… well I guess why I have so much anger at you and myself is well… I was engaged. I ended things months before the wedding because of you."

Maka's eyes went wide as she nearly fell back. That had been the last thing she could have possibly conjured. In fact she didn't even have the sort of imagination to think of Soul married. A pang of emotions, a mass of confusion and shock, slammed into her.

"I mean," Soul rambled on, Maka staring with eyes like saucers. "I know it wasn't you. I know it was me but still… I blamed you regardless. I felt like I couldn't trust anyone because of how you were able to leave so abruptly but now, I know, I _know_, it was me. I held on to that hurt and I let it fester for so long that it hurt someone else. I just couldn't acknowledge the mistake as my own and whenever I finally did, I still split the blame between us. I just couldn't accept my failures."

Maka didn't have any words to say. All of this was news to her, she hadn't heard any rumors of his relationship status… not that she'd made a point to hear them. Maka reasoned that it would have been normal but then hearing how she was reason for distrust so deeply embedded into him hurt her in ways, ways she didn't have words for either. Maka felt guilty at the relief that came through her at the realization he wasn't married. She had no right to feel that way toward him, she'd worked hard to push those feelings aside.

"I'm…" she started, struggling for words still. "I'm glad my words did something, I'm glad you're embracing your mistakes. It's liberating," she managed. It was true, coming to terms with everything she'd done wrong had been rather traumatic experience but now that she had it, Maka could conquer her own mind.

"Liberating?" Soul said, looking at her as she turned her face away to grab at her forgotten drink. They both needed it, their conversation proved to be sobering.

"It doesn't feel good," Soul grumbled.

"Liberation doesn't need to feel good. It's a freedom, a very certain freedom in this context. We all fuck up. Royally. It doesn't matter if it's on purpose or not, if it was done for the right reasons. The bottom line is we mess up and we are allowed to. Holding ourselves to a standard that criminalizes mistakes is a fast track to madness. Even if it means we are hurting ourselves or one another. Make the mistake, accept it, learn from it and get the hell over it." Maka realized she had begun to talk about herself but she didn't stop herself, in fact she couldn't if she wanted to. Maka was drunk, not sloppy drunk but tomorrow would be late wake up call for sure.

Soul on the other hand was staring, her words made sense. She was clearly speaking out of her own failures but it was applicable to both of them.

"So that's how you managed, huh? Whenever I saw you… I didn't expect you to be so happy and carefree." Maka laughed at his words, the laugh was genuine in a mocking manner.

"Carefree? Yes. Happy? Not by a long shot." Soul laughed slightly with her, remembering her screaming rage in the desert.

"I mean… I know that but whenever I saw you at the Court I didn't know that. Actually I didn't realize just how much you were struggling until that night," he said. Maka grimaced, memories of her laying in the sand begging him to leave her there rushed to the surface. She felt a deep embarrassment, it was a scene he shouldn't have seen.

"Which speaking of… how are you as far as that goes?" He asked, timid. Her grimace deepened. This conversation was steadily killing her buzz.

"I don't want to talk about this Soul… I am enjoying your presence but not if you're going to keep probing." Soul nodded at her, he should have expected that. Just because he opened up to her didn't mean she was willing to do the same. He supposed she had opened up to him a bit tonight.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, you know what?" Maka asked, suddenly feeling like walking a fine line. She didn't answer her own question, instead she ran into her bedroom. Fishing out her phone, she connected her phone to the bluetooth speaker sitting on her kitchen counter. While in the bedroom, she stripped out of the tight dress, wanting freedom from it's constriction. She just kept on her spandex shorts, socks and slipped into a cut up tank top that had been retired for sleep clothes.

"Let's jam," she grinned, picking the most obnoxious song she could think of as she entered the living room again. She couldn't miss his wondering looks, she had ignored them earlier but she wondered what would happen if she…

"_I got drip on the floor and it's getting nasty, he ain't keepin his hands up off my ass cheeks_," a female rapper sung, Soul's eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he watched the meister dance. Dance classes did not teach what she was doing. If he was in high school, he was certain he'd have a nose bleed. It took everything in him to not let his jaw fall open. Her hips ticked to the beat, he watched in awe as she popped her ass as she dropped it low just to bring back up in circular motions. He struggled to look elsewhere, anywhere else. His eyes fell on his empty glass and used it as an excuse to get off the couch. Soul knew Maka was dangerous but never _this_ dangerous. He wondered how the hell he was going to stop thinking as the images of her expertly rolling her waist and hips in those tiny black shorts.

"Let's take shots," she grinned, walking up next to him. Her cheeks were still flushed but he wasn't sure if it was from the dancing or the alcohol, probably both he decided.

"I-" he started but was cut off and she lifted the bottle to her lips and gulped several drinks. That was certainly not just a shot. Grinning ear to ear, she extended the bottle.

"You wanna drive the boat?" She asked. Soul was confused, what boat?

"What?"

"Open your damn mouth," she laughed and he understood. He wasn't sure what pouring a shot into his mouth had to do with driving a boat. Maka lifted to her tiptoes, waiting on him to follow directions. He opened his mouth and leaned his head back slowly, not very sure. The only time he'd had this done was on his 21st birthday whenever Blackstar insisted on the bartender to pour his first shot directly into his mouth. This felt… intense to say at the very least. He felt her hand cup under his jaw, he could not deny how his heart jumped at the contact. Not for long because then bitter liquid was in his mouth, forcing him to swallow. She poured for a bit too long, drops spilling at the corners of his lips. Soul struggled to throw it all back, forcing himself not to gag he coughed carefully. He wiped his face with the back of hand, grinning slightly as his eyes watered.

"That was at least a double shot," he fake complained, he loved it.

"What is that I hear? A bitch?" She laughed, going to take another drink but he intercepted the bottle before she could.

"If I had to drive the boat so do you."

"Oh baby, I'm the captain." Her words sent shivers through his body. She winked at him slyly before following suite. Now that he was about to pour it in her mouth, he realized it wasn't exactly easy to gage the right amount. He ended up spilling some of it like she did but she took it like a champ, licking the missed droplets.

"I guess you're right, maybe I'm just not cut out for it," he mumbled, unable to peel his eyes from her lips. They were so pouty and soft. Maka was staring at him, staring at her. She was a liar to say she hadn't been enjoying the way he watched her dance. Maka loved the way his red eyes were glowing, cheeks rosy from the booze.

"Have you ever figured out how to dance?" She asked, pulling him the trance he was in. Before he could answer, she was pulling him into the open space between the kitchen and living room.

"It'll be good for resonance too," Maka placed his hand on her waist correctly before holding his hand and shoulder. His fingers splayed out, too eager for their own good. The song playing now was much slower, suited for couples dancing. Soul was thankful that he did know how to dance, pretty well at that. Maka kept up with him step for step, even drunk as they were they managed to sweep across the room. Without warning, Soul spin her and the booze caught up to her. He saw it coming, her feet tangling around on another and he quickly pulled him to her before she could fall. She was laughing against his chest now, forehead resting against him and her arms snaked around his waist tightly. He went to pull away but she held firm. Maka knew what she was doing, knew she might regret it all tomorrow but all she wanted right then was his hands all over her.

"Hey," she said softly, green eyes fluttering under heavy lashes. His heart was in his throat, going crazy at the sight of her licking her lips and then pulling her bottom pout between her teeth.

"Hi," he whispered back, the sultry love song intensifying the mood.

"You should kiss me," she whispered back to him. Following Maka's directions was second nature to him and now was no exception. However there was a moment he paused, wondering if this was a dream. If it was, it didn't matter.

He leaned down, brushing her long silken hair behind her ear. He could've admired her for hours, she was so pretty. Soul gently kissed her, the taste of gin present. He'd be a liar if he didn't enjoy the taste of her too. It was simple, their lips finding an easy speed. Maka craved so much more, she wanted to be overwhelmed. Her calloused hands gripped his neck and intertwined in his thick hair, deepening the kiss. She pressed her body hard against him, urging him silently to move his hands all over her. Their tongues slid together beautifully, passionately. Maka let out a soft moan as his hands finally began to move, clutching at her waist and running up her spine.

Needing breath, she pulled away but kept him near. Maka had longed for this kind of touch and the fact it was Soul made it all the more better. She wanted him in her bed, right now. Wordlessly, she grasped his hand and began pulling him to the bedroom. He stopped in the doorway, looking at her heavily.

"Maka… are you sure?" Soul asked. _What a silly question_, she thought. Embracing a sexual confidence she never had with him before, she pulled her shirt over head. Her green eyes bore into his, wordlessly answering his question. She backed up slowly, not breaking eye contact. He didn't follow her so she'd make him come to her, Maka decided. Listening to the song, she slowly rocked her body before dropping on the bed.

Soul watched as her long legs raised in the air, giving him an intimate view of the back of her thighs and ass. The shorts barely contained her cheeks, especially whenever she was shaking like that. His feet carried him to her, needing to feel her skin. She let down her legs and sat up at his approach, knees parted for him. Maka ran her hands along the outside of his thighs, trailing up to his waist to untuck his button up shirt. Soul's gut twisted at the feeling of her fingertips grazing the skin of his stomach.

"Soul, touch me," she breathed, planting little kisses on his abs after parting the buttons. Her words broke whatever restraint he was clutching too. Soul tangled his fingers in her locks before tilting her face back to crush his lips to hers. He pushed her back on the bed without breaking the kiss, Maka continued to work on removing his shirt. Their kiss was heated and frantic, Soul broke his lips away to nip and suck at the black flower on her neck. Maka mewled under him, arching her back into him.

"You're so fucking pretty," he hummed against her skin. Maka gaped whenever his sharp teeth sunk into the tender flesh. Her fingertips traced the planes and lines of his chest, tracing the faded scar running across his midsection. For years she hated that scar but in that moment, she loved it. She loved what he was willing to do for her. Her nails thrummed over the hard muscles of his stomach, it was obvious he was not the boy she'd known. He was grown and she felt herself physically reacting to his assault on her neck. His hands remained still for the most part, stationed on either side of her.

Maka flipped them over, sitting herself on the bulge in his pants. His shirt was now completely discarded and she drank him in. They were both panting and staring at each others bodies. Finally, his hands caressed her thighs before going higher, slowing to give her ass a firm grab. In return, she rocked against him and was rewarded by a soft moan from him. The sound traveled across her skin like electricity, causing dampness to pool between her legs. His hands made their way to her chest, squeezing her through the bra she wore still. Maka let out a lewd sound to his actions.

Without further encouragement, Soul unhooked her bra and tore it from her body. Her breasts bounced slightly, making his mouth water. Sitting up, he attached his lips to the dusty pink center. Maka moaned loudly as his tongue flicked and sucked on her nipples. He worked on her chest for a bit while she rocked herself against him, hands alternating between tugging at his scalp and massaging it. Soul peppered rough kisses all over her chest before going as low as his position would allow him.

No words were needed, the rest of their clothing seemingly dissolved off them. Skin to skin contact send full body shudders through Soul. With their lips pressed together, another feeling of closeness emerged. Maka could feel his heartbeat inside her, pulsing right alongside hers. Their souls began to tangle together, wavelength matching one another effortlessly. Both of them moaned at the feeling, it was elevating and consuming. Sultry chords rang in Maka's head and their limbs intertwined on the bed, each note plucking strings of pleasure.

"We're-" _matching wavelengths_, he finished speaking through the bond they shared. Maka answered him physically, aligning her heat with him and sinking down without warning. The sweet and heavy emotions floating through the bond manifested in white hot pleasure. It ripped through her, extending to the white haired man under her. She rode him, loving the way his face contorted with every roll of her hips. The sounds from his soul becoming more and more intense, causing her body to coil. Reaching down, she pulled him flush against her chest or tried too but he knew her intentions before she could follow through.

_Kiss me._

And did he ever, his tongue stroking against her mouth deliciously. His hands helped move her along as she began to shake.

_Come around me_, his voice was husky and wild and filled her whole body. Maka had already been so close, his words sent her body and soul into a frenzy. Her heat clenched around him and she fell apart. Maka couldn't contain the sounds that fell from her and Soul savored every single one. Her head thrown back, face flushed and lips parted he couldn't believe he had Maka pressed against his chest. He couldn't last any longer, he rocked into her as he came undone.

They fell back on the bed, breathing still labored. Soul rolled over to her, words on his lips but found Maka already fast asleep.


End file.
